Promote, Unify, Represent and Educate the Fire Service of Texas |
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Hello, Texas Firefighters. It’s hard to believe it has already been two months since the June Conference. I thought things were beginning to get back to normal and now another wave of COVID. I won’t get into the argument of whether you should get vaccinated. That is your choice. I chose to be vaccinated and I do not regret my decision. We are losing too many from the fire service.
Since the conference in Lubbock your Executive Board has met one time. We met in July at the fire training school. Committee appointments were made and we hope all those appointed have been notified.
Board travel has begun. Some board members traveled to Refugio for the opening of their station. We also traveled to Refugio for Chief Don Pullin’s funeral. We left there and traveled to Santa Fe for the Gulf Coast/Tri-Rivers fall meeting. A big thank-you to the Gulf Coast/Tri-Rivers Districts for your hospitality and a great meal. There was some good information exchanged at the meeting, and we look forward to traveling to as many of the other district meetings as we can.
We have good news to share concerning our Certification Testing. Director Rutland will cover that in his article.
That’s all for now. See you down the road.
Richard Van Winkle
President SFFMA
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Executive Director's Corner |
Greetings SFFMA members! I wanted to pass along some exciting news out of the state office:
First, we have begun the process of developing a new data management system for the association. It will replace the Growth Zone platform currently used by members and staff. This will be a customized system from the ground up, designed to specifically address our needs as an association and to accommodate department administrators, coordinators, the individual user, and SFFMA staff. Derrell Beasley, our system developer and newest member of the SFFMA staff, is making final decisions regarding the “architecture” of the system, and will soon begin the process of programming the various system modules. We’ll keep everyone up to date on progress and will provide samples of the new system as development continues. This will give you the opportunity to submit feedback regarding design and function. As with any project of this size it will take some time, so please bear with us…I believe the final product will be worth waiting for.
Secondly, we have also begun the process of transitioning to online certification testing for association members with our first online testing session scheduled for late September. The program will allow members to take tests via computer at proctored locations. We will roll out the program slowly to ensure we have a smooth testing process with the first several sessions administered by SFFMA staff. Agreements are being established with college testing centers around the state with the plan to have those centers ultimately administer most exams for us. During this transition we also will continue our long-standing partnership with our friends at TEEX for administration of tests at the regional sites. We will provide more information regarding the online testing program as we get underway.
Tim Rutland
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We hope you are doing well. Here at SFFMA we are getting our files in order to transfer to the new system that will replace Growthzone next year. We must have each member’s date of birth, last four digits of their SSN, AND a current email address in their individual profiles. Each profile will need these pieces of information before they are transferred into the new system. This means that if any individual profile is missing that information their profile will not be transferred over.
Feel free to add the information to the profile yourself by logging in to your personal account, or ask the department administrator to input the missing information by editing the department profile. You are also welcome to email our membership department here to submit missing information. We will also send personal reminders through the end of the year. If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to the SFFMA office.
Thank you for your assistance,
SFFMA
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FREE Plan Review Seminar
*plus the Largest Fire Sprinkler Exhibition in North America*
Date: Monday, September 20 and Tuesday,September 21
Cost: FREE
Location: JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country, 23808 Resort Parkway, San Antonio, TX 78261
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VFIS of Texas and Texas Mutual Insurance Company are once again pleased to sponsor a need-based Health & Wellness Grant program for fire departments and non-profit EMS organizations in Texas. Grants up to $5,000 will be awarded based on financial need and are intended to assist emergency service organizations in developing a health & wellness program to prevent emergency responder deaths and injuries and for cancer prevention. Departments will need to apply for the grant, expend the funds and then send in copies of receipts in order to receive the grant funds.
Grant Application Deadline is December 31, 2021.
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Certification Board Vacancies
We continue to have two vacancies on the Certification Board. Zone 13 (northeastern side of Permian Basin District) and Zone 15 (Wintergarden District) are currently unrepresented in decisions made by the Board. A map of the districts is available HERE.
To appoint a prospective new Board Member, the District must submit their name and resume in writing to the President (Richard Van Winkle) and Executive Director (Tim Rutland) of the SFFMA. The President of the SFFMA fills vacancies due to unexpired terms caused by any reason.
To serve as a Certification Board Zone Representative, individuals must meet all of the following requirements:
- reside in the Zone to be represented, and be active in that District;
- be an active, retired or honorary life member of a regularly organized volunteer or combination fire department that holds current membership in the SFFMA;
- maintain a current individual membership in the SFFMA;
- have at least eight (8) years of experience with a recognized fire department or combination of recognized fire departments;
- hold at least an SFFMA Firefighter I certification;
- meet the instructional criteria for Certification Coordinator; and
- attend a majority of meetings each year.
Instructional and Testing Skill Sheets
The Certification Board approved updated instructional and/or testing skill sheets for implementation January 1, 2021. We’ll be updating the objectives to reference the new skill sheets effective that date also.
The curricula involved are:
1001: Firefighter I & II – Instructional and Testing
1002: Driver/Operator Pumper and Aerial – Testing
1072: HazMat Awareness/Operations – Testing
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Data Management System Update |
Hello again,
It was nice meeting everyone at the Lubbock Convention this summer. For those who didn’t attend, allow me to introduce myself: my name is Derrell Beasley. I’m a software developer who specializes in System Architecture. I can program in approximately 10 different languages and develop the full technology stacks (UI, backend, database, etc.). I started my career as a Games Designer then moved to developing system prototypes as a contractor, which lead me to TCFP where I developed a new ground-up technology stack (Online Exams, Fido, and other internal projects without public components) with Tim Rutland.
Everyone knows Tim is now with SFFMA and so am I. Tim thought it would be a great idea to bring the old team back together to develop new custom software for SFFMA to solve some of the many issues the Association has had over the years. So, my column for this newsletter will be to update everyone on the progress on the new system, code named Hydra – what I call it internally.
I’ll leave you with this:
The first major design consideration of the System Architecture is sustainability. The goal is to develop a system that can be easily maintained without prior knowledge and have a low cost of running and maintenance.
The next column will go into how I plan on achieving this. Special thanks to Andy Dexter, who made a special trip to Austin to spend 2 days hashing out designs on whiteboards.
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Meet the Instructors!
2-Day Retention and Recruitment Workshop
Tyler, TX – October 23-24, 2021
Chief Dan Eggleston – Albemarle County Fire Rescue, Virginia
- 34 years in combination systems
- IAFC 2018 President
- 2015 IAFC Fire Chief of the Year
- 749 sq. miles, mixed urban/rural
- 80 career, 750 volunteer members
Greg Redden – Adapt Management
- California Casualty management for 18 years working with firefighter, police, and educator associations
- Started Adapt to manage association membership campaigns in 2002.
- Launched IVFESA in 2006
- 37 grants in 16 states totaling over $47 million
Chief John Oprandy and Adapt President Greg Redden Will Be Teaching You How To:
Keep Current Volunteers Engaged and Motivated – Implement Healthy Leadership Practices – Lead vs. Manage – Set Goals to Improve Your Department Based on a Needs Assessment – Market Your Department to Potential New Recruits – Recruit for Diversity and Equity – Use Your SAFER Grant for FREE Marketing Materials – Develop a Volunteer Recruitment Campaign
Class also offered on November 3-4, 2021, in Lubbock, TX
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Convention News and Events |
Planning for the 2022 Beaumont conference is already underway. Conference dates are June 24-29, 2022. Planning sessions for the June conference will take place January 28, 2022 at the SFFMA office. If you are the chair of a committee that participates in conference planning, please plan to meet with your committee prior to January 28, and assign one or two committee members to meet with the board during the planning sessions. Committee meetings can be held via Zoom or in person. If you need help setting up a Zoom meeting for your committee, please email us and we’ll be glad to facilitate a Zoom meeting for your group. Or if you would prefer to meet in person and need a meeting location, we can host your group here at the SFFMA office. Any questions or concerns regarding conference planning can be directed to Heather Lundy at 512-454-3473 ext. 112
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Last Chance to Enter!
MSA and the NVFC are offering NVFC members one last chance to win a personalized MSA Cairns® XF1 Fire Helmet! Enter the MSA Cairns XF1 Firefighter Helmet Giveaway by September 30. The giveaway is for active volunteers only. Click the apply button above for details.
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Reminder: Texas EMS Awards - Nominations period now open
The Texas Department of State Health Services sponsors the Texas EMS Awards and invites you to submit your nominations for this year’s awards ceremony by September 17. You can view categories and submission details on the Texas EMS Awards webpage.
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New Contract Pricing on Medline!
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Emergency Vehicle Driver Training Instructor Level
Registration is open for VFIS of Texas online “Instructor Level” training classes through the end of 2021! The classes will be limited to the first 10 participants. These online courses are interactive and all participants must have a computer with good internet connection, webcam, speakers and microphone. More classes will be scheduled for later in the year. Click here to view upcoming classes.
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DripDrop and the NVFC Partner to Provide Dehydration Relief to Volunteer Firefighters
For the second year, DripDrop and the NVFC have teamed up to provide dehydration relief to volunteer firefighters. DripDrop is providing 200,000 sticks of their oral rehydration solution (ORS) to volunteer fire departments across the U.S. Volunteer firefighters can request one 80-count multi-flavor package of DripDrop ORS to use in their department during wildfire response, long incidents, intense training, or other strenuous work. Read article.
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Passing of William “Bill” Pollard
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William “Bill” Alan Pollard, 65, a resident of Texas City, TX for 43 years, passed away August 17, 2021 in Webster, TX. Bill was born July 27, 1956 in Texas City, TX to Ellen and Warren Pollard. Bill retired from the Houston Fire Department after 38 1/2 years of service, was a member of the Hitchcock Volunteer Fire Department, and beloved brother and participant to so many other departments including Santa Fe, La Marque, Southeast, Forest Bend and Friendswood. He was devoted to teaching firefighters from around the state at TEEX in College Station, TX, Galveston County Field Days, and Harris County Field Days. He was also the chaplain of the Galveston County Firefighters Association.
He is preceded in death by his parents. He leaves behind his wife of 44 years, Norma Kay Pollard; daughter, Erin Pollard, husband Jacob Williams; sons: Ryan Pollard, wife Katie, and Reagen Pollard, wife Crystal; grandchildren: Caeden Pollard, T.J. Campbell, Phoenix Levanne, Abbie Pollard, Drake Pollard, Brody Pollard, and Hugh Pollard; brother, Warren A. Pollard, wife Patsy.
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