The article submission was on February 28, so some additional news has likely occurred since then. I hope to see you at the FFAM Convention, on May 2-3-4. The Foundation will have a table at the vendor expo so please come by.
The Foundation elected officers for 2025. I was retained as Chair, Kenneth Hoover as Vice Chair and Stephen McLane as Secretary. Our Treasurer continues as a contracted position. We are pleased to announce that Doc Kritzer has been re-appointed to the Foundation after a brief respite and will continue all engraving responsibilities. Welcome back Doc! Tracy Gray has accepted the responsibility of building and grounds. Bill Albus will continue with outside flag management and Gail has our flag sponsor program.
Your memorial will be 23 years old in May. Age with surface-mounted things that remain 100% in the weather develop various needs for repairs and another phase of that will start in March with raising and leveling several sections of the stamped concrete. We also have a flagpole that is leaning a few inches out of its center.
We are finalizing the purchase of our own chairs and eliminating paying over $1,200 on a two-day rental each year. To give you some perspective on how attendance has grown, our first rental was for 200 chairs, then 300, and in the past three years 450, which is no longer enough for the Sunday service. Purchasing our own chairs now allows the Foundation to hold a variety of other events throughout the year, which would not be easily accomplished and costly with each event.
The next phase of potential construction inside of the museum is currently under plan and materials review and involves both framing and electrical in the north half of the building. Much more on this will hopefully follow in the next article.
Planning for the October services is now fully underway with contacting families and the agency regarding the recognition of their loved one. The Foundation has arranged for a listing of the non-line of duty names that we have so far in this edition of your magazine. We are honoring those who passed in 2024, and any names brought to our attention having missed from 2022 or 2023.
NOTE: there are some names currently listed as non-LODD that are awaiting administrative determination for Line of Duty status. Once that is finalized, they will then be given full LODD Honors regardless of the timeline. For now, they are receiving service recognition while we wait. In case you are not aware, the Foundation is using two authorities for this decision. It is helpful to get both, but just one is required. Either a State of Missouri Workers Compensation Line of Duty Death ruling or NFFF following the PSOB determination by the DOJ.
We are pleased to announce the Keynote Speaker for the Sunday Service will be Russell Hobbs. He is a firefighter and the son of Rickey Lee Hobbs from Waynesville, a Line of Duty honoree from our 2023 services. We continue to adjust service recognition and how we present honors to improve the family experience. Your Foundation is fully open and would be appreciative of suggestions. Please think about this and get back to us ASAP so additions and adjustments can be made in a timely manner. By July 1, nearly everything is locked related to the October services.
Just in case you missed this in the last edition, July 1 is the cutoff for all engraving. Both of the 2025 services are going to be recorded, and the Sunday Service will be live-streamed. Unlike the two previous services, we will be able to get you this information well in advance vs. days before. The last two services have provided more delivery of honors and recognition to families and require more logistical support. That said, we are asking for help in advance of and day(s) of each service. If you have an interest in doing so, please contact us. A reminder that our mailing address is 5550 Dunn Drive, Kingdom City, MO 65262. For email, please use info@mofirememorial-museum.org This is a shared platform for checking on messages, so please give it a few days to respond. If it is urgent, please call me at 314 709 0760.
Thank you for your time and continued support of your memorial and future museum.
FFAM
