April 2013 - State Firemen's & Fire Marshals'

ABOUT USExecutive Board / Executive Director’s Corner2012 - 2013EXECUTIVE BOARDPRESIDENTDAVID WADE3018 Eileen St.Deer Park, TX 77536-5022W: 281.478.7281C: 713.545.9299Email: dwade@sffma.org1 st VICE PRESIDENT BILL GARDNERPO Box 319Leander, TX 78646-0319W: 512.528.1664C: 512.845.9689Email: bgardner@sffma.org2 nd VICE PRESIDENT RUSTY KATTNER680 Fountain View Ln.League City, TX 77573-1971W: 409.925.7331C: 832.221.9533Email: rkattner@sffma.org3 rd VICE PRESIDENTPAST PRESIDENT4SECRETARYASSISTANTSECRETARYCHAPLAINEXECUTIVEDIRECTORMASCOTBOARDPARLIAMENTARIANPAUL HAMILTONPO Box 364Bushland, TX 79012-0364W: 806.364.7311C: 806.640.2195Email: phamilton@sffma.org4 th VICE PRESIDENT HENRY PERRYPO Box 88Bastrop, TX 78602-0088W: 512.321.5550C: 512.848.7319Email: hperry@sffma.orgJOE ONDRASEK5572 Caroline Dr.Bryan, TX 77807-7806W: 979.775.0194C: 979.820.1038Email: jondrasek@sffma.orgF. JIM WHITE304 E. Mundy St.Overton, TX 75684H: 903.834.3457Email: jwhite@sffma.orgBEN KENNEDYPO Box 11859College Station, TX 77842-1859W: 979.229.1263C: 979.458.4603Email: bkennedy@sffma.orgREX KLESEL3537 County Road 326Alvin, TX 77511-1564W: 281.331.7688C: 281.387.9967Email: rklesel@sffma.orgCHRIS BARRON4450 Frontier Trl.Austin, TX 78745W: 512.454.3473F: 512.453.1876Email: cbarron@sffma.orgBLAKE LOCKNANE7902 4 th St.Lubbock, TX 79416-6302Email: mjlock@xanadoo.comRAYFORD W. GIBSONPO Box 774Tatum, TX 75691-0774W: 979.229.8134H: 903.947.2831Email: rgibson@sffma.orgInfoFire Magazine / Vol. 48Front row (Left to right): David Wade (President), Bill Gardner (1 st VP), Rusty Kattner (2 nd VP), Paul Hamilton (3 rd VP),Henry Perry (4 th VP) Back row (Left to right): Blake Locknane (Mascot), Rex Klesel (Immediate Past President), BenKennedy (Chaplain), F. Jim White (Assistant Secretary), Joe Ondrasek (Secretary), Chris Barron (Executive Director),Rayford Gibson (Parliamentarian)Spring 2013 is here and weare quickly moving throughanother year of projects,legislative session, etc. Bythe time you receive thismagazine the legislativesession will be nearingits end. We are watchingseveral bills this sessionthat could impact ourmembership and emergencyservices in Texas. T*Flag Chairman Dan Key willbe covering several of these bills in his article onpage 8.SFFMA has several projects we are working onthat have kept us busy. I’ll provide a summary ofseveral of the projects to let you know what allSFFMA is doing for you. I encourage you to takeadvantage of some of our benefits, membershipbenefit providers, and stay informed on things thatare going on in our state.SFFMA’s new office building construction isproceeding ahead of schedule. In the month ofApril we will see the foundation being pouredand the framing soon starting. The project hasgone well and hasn’t run into any major hurdles.We have recently installed a web camera onthe Manchaca Fire Department’s station (nextdoor) to allow for you to view the progress of theconstruction. Please go to our home page andclick the building progress button on the left handside of the website to view the latest pictures onthe project. If all goes as planned, the builders areexpecting a 9-month build time.Our database is undergoing an upgrade that willallow our membership more information, options,interaction with other members, staff, etc. Wehave implemented a new server that will allowfor a more stable environment, website contentmanagement, future growth/memory and fasteraccess to membership/certification records. Weare hoping this upgrade project will be done in thecoming months after thorough testing.Several grant programs are still underwayincluding the DHS Training Travel AssistanceGrant that was awarded to SFFMA for assistancein the travel costs associated with gettingfirefighters trained. A button is located on thefront page of our website to access the applicationfor this grant program. The Trusted ChoiceVFD grant program is a new grant programadministered by the Trusted Choice IndependentInsurance Agents of Texas. It provides VFDdepartments up to $5000 for equipment or fireprevention programs. The initial program has beenwell received and we have received numerousapplications for this program. (Grant applicationclosed on March 15th). The DHS Recruitment/Retention program that SFFMA was awardedcontinues with us purchasing air time across Texasin various markets to help local departments recruitnew members. We started 2013 with a mediacampaign run in the Panhandle area composedof billboards, TV airtime, and newspaper ads. Westill have recruitment/retention banners, posters,etc available to departments across Texas. Pleasevisit our website at www.volfire.com or send anemail to recruitment@sffma.org to request anymaterials. The materials are FREE!We have several new benefits that have beenrecently rolled out to our membership includingretail discount programs, several discountprograms on life and other insurance programs.The latest list of benefits can be found in thismagazine or on our website under the Join SFFMAtab.I encourage you to take advantage of the savingsthat our providers have to offer and the programswe have set up for you.I welcome you to contact our staff, myself or ourboard members at any time with suggestions,comments, etc about our association. Thankyou for what you do for your community and theemergency services of Texas.Chris BarronSFFMA Executive Directorwww.sffma.org