F.F.A.M.

Awards…Awards…Awards

Larry Jennings, Committee Chair
Larry Jennings, Committee Chair

I am taking this opportunity to introduce myself to those of you who have not met me and to re-introduce myself to many of you that have known me for years. President Hoover has asked that I act as chairman of the FFAM Awards Committee and asked that I give you an introduction to me and the Awards Committee.

First about me, I have been in the fire service for thirty-nine years serving the entire time in Johnson County. I have served as Chief of the Johnson County Fire Protection District for the past nineteen years with the last eight as a full-time paid position. During the years of fire service I have also served time as a police officer, investigator for the Missouri Division of Fire Safety and an investigator for a large insurance company.

More importantly let’s discuss the Awards Committee. Currently the committee is comprised of Joe Vaughn and myself with another member pending appointment by President Hoover and the FFAM Board of Directors. The committee is charged with the responsibility of accepting, reviewing and making the presentation of awards to deserving members of the FFAM based on criteria submitted by you for the various award categories.

The current awards available are the Chief of the Year, Firefighter of the Year, Fire Department of the Year, three divisions of Life Saving Awards, Meritorious Award, Youth Career Program and the Phil Sayer Lifetime Achievement Award. More descriptive information on each award and the award nomination form are available at www.ffam.org/committees/awards/. I encourage each of you to take a few minutes and review the award criteria and then take a look around your area of the state and nominate a deserving candidate for an award.

After receiving the nominations by the February 28 deadline the committee will review each of them and thoroughly analyze all information to determine which nomination best fits the particular category. Unfortunately the very nature of some of the awards limit us to only award one per year, which makes the committee’s task often a difficult one and not one taken lightly. Remember, when submitting the nomination please include sufficient details and supporting information to allow us to fully understand why your nominee is the best for the particular award.

It is the committee’s pleasure to serve the members of the FFAM and we look forward to reviewing the nominations you submit. If you need any clarification of have questions concerning the awards or the committee please feel free to contact us. Up to date contact information is available on the FFAM website in the awards committee section.