F.F.A.M.

Meeting Minutes – September 2015

President Kenneth Hoover called the meeting of the Board of Directors of the Fire Fighters Association of Missouri to order at 9:00 a.m. Sunday, August 9, 2015 at the State Fair Fire Department in Sedalia, MO.

Roll Call of Board of Directors

Officers

President, Kenneth Hoover, Little Dixie FPD; First Vice President, Tim Bean, West Plains FD; Second Vice President, Charlie Neubert, Highlandville Rural FD; Secretary Treasurer, Jaime Miller, Johnson County FPD; Sergeant-at-Arms, Rex Reynolds, Southern FPD of Holt County.

Board of Directors

District 1, Terry Wynne, Galt FPD; District 2, Greg Wright, Shelbina FD; District 3, Larry Jones, Madison West Monroe FPD; District 5, Terry Plumb, Southern Stone FPD; District 6, Richard Gordon, Cole County FPD; District 11, Monty Thompson, Kearney FPD; District 14, Rick Dozier, Southern FPD of Holt Co.

Assistant Directors

District 1, Janet Cain, Braymer FR; District 2, Vernon Cash, Shelbina FPD; District 3, Steve Gentry, Little Dixie FPD; District 5, Shelby Phifer, Southern Stone FPD; District 6, Gary Berendzen, Cole County FPD; District 7, Ed Kriska, Eureka FD; District 14, Glenn Dittmar.

Guests

Past President, Keith Smith, Warrenton FPD; Historian, Kay Asher, Wentzville FPD; David Hedrick, MU FRTI; Greg Carrell, Brenda Carrell, Division of Fire Safety; Larry Jennings, Joe Jennings, Johnson County FPD; Donald Vaucher, Harriett Vaucher, Eureka FPD; Grant Oetting, Higginsville F&R; Roger Mattox, North Central Carroll County FPD; Cy Fields, Paris Rural FPD; Gail Hagans, MU FRTI; Rick Johnson, Knob Noster FD.

Agenda

President Hoover asked for additions to the agenda. Charlie Neubert moved to accept the agenda as presented. Rick Dozier seconded the motion and all approved.

Minutes

President Hoover asked for a review of the June 7, 2015 meeting minutes. No corrections or changes were made. Greg Wright moved to accept the minutes as presented. Terry Wynne seconded the motion and all approved.

Financial Report

President Hoover asked for a review of the June/July 2015 financial report. Charlie Neubert moved to accept the financial reports as presented. Rick Dozier seconded the motion and all approved.

Report of Officers and Special Guest(s)

David Hedrick, Director, with MU FRTI reported that during the fiscal year 2015, 605 classes were taught with 13,000 students in attendance.

In fiscal year 2016, they received subsidy funding from the Division of Fire Safety and the Missouri Fire Safety Commission for additional training.

The grain bin rescue simulator is now in operation and classes are being scheduled.

MU FRTI is beginning a new program, the 1st arriving officer command training software simulator. Anyone interested in the program can contact him for more information.

The Propane Industry Responders Conference is September 12–13 at the State Fair Fire Department. Contact MU FRTI to register. There is a maximum of 60 students for the training.

Greg Carrell, Fire Marshal, with the Division of Fire Safety reported that there are several investigator positions currently open. The Division will be conducting interviews within the next week.

The additional training funds released by the Governor at the end of fiscal year 2015 were spent on several much needed trainings. The Division is currently scheduling numerous trainings for fiscal year 2016.

He advised that Legislator Day at the State Fair is August 20.

The DFS will have fifteen additional levels of certifications by December. Field personnel are assisting in the development of the curriculum for the additional programs. Examples include rope rescue and tanker operator.

Correspondence

No correspondence was received.

Unfinished Business

Larry Jennings reported that he received a request for direct deposit information however, no official confirmation of the award of the SAFER grant.

New Business

Secretary Miller presented two new benefits for members. Missouri Storm Shelters in Nixa is offering a $250 discount to individuals and departments with additional discounts that will be offered throughout the year. Life Line Screenings, which offers four medical screening tests, has offered members a discounted rate of $135 for the four tests. $5 of each test conducted will be given back to FFAM. Discussion followed. Tim Bean moved to partner with Missouri Storm Shelters and Life Line Screenings to offer new benefits to members. Rick Dozier seconded the motion and all approved.

Secretary Miller presented a proposal to hire a Data Entry Clerk to begin the process of converting all old membership records into an electronic, searchable format. The Clerk could be hired through a cost-sharing program at the University of Central Missouri. Through the program, the FFAM would be responsible for 25% of the employee’s salary and a federal grant would pay for the other 75%. Discussion followed. Charlie Neubert moved to hire a Data Entry Clerk through the University of Central Missouri Program and the salary to come from the Membership Committee budget. Terry Wynne seconded the motion and all approved.

The 2014 Accountants’ Compilation Report and Financial Statements from Gillum and Gillum CPA’s was presented for review. Discussion followed. Secretary Miller advised that the auditor reported no issues or deficiencies in the report. Tim Bean moved to accept the 2014 Accountants’ Compilation Report and Financial Statements from Gillum and Gillum CPA’s as presented. Charlie Neubert seconded the motion and all approved.

The FFAM Auxiliary presented a donation of $1,500 to the Missouri Fire Service Funeral Assistance Team. The funds were raised from the silent auction held at the convention. The Auxiliary is always accepting donations for the auction.

Pam Carsten with the FFAM Auxiliary advised that she needs department t-shirts for a quilt that will be raffled at the 2016 convention.

Committee Reports

Awards Committee

Larry Jennings presented the revised awards for the Board to review. Discussion followed. Rick Dozier moved to approve the changes to the awards. Tim Bean seconded the motion and all approved.

Budget Committee

Tim Bean advised all committee budget requests are due today.

Bylaws Committee

No report.

Chaplain Committee

David Hedrick reported that the Federation of Fire Chaplains annual meeting will be held October 18-22 in Palm Beach, FL. Those interested can go to firechaplains.org. Hedrick advised that there may be a fire chaplains training this fall in Missouri. If you are interested in attending, contact him. The corp is gauging interest to see if they will hold a training. The new contact email for the Missouri Fire Chaplains Corp is missourifirechaplains@gmail.com.

Contest Committee

Richard Gordon reported they are ready for the next convention. There are no issues with the site since they are familiar with it from the last convention.

Convention Committee

Larry Jones advised there is no new information reference the 2016 convention. Larry Jennings advised that anyone interested in assisting with the 2017 convention needs to contact him.

Education Committee

Rick Dozier reported that the Propane First Responders Conference will be held at the State Fair Fire Department September 12-13. The training, meals and lodging will be provided free of charge. Conference flyers were sent to all departments in the state. MU FRTI is handling registrations and he is handling lodging requests. The State Fair FD will be open Friday afternoon for those wanting to arrive early. Everyone attending will need a full set of PPE and SCBA.

Prevention Committee

Ed Kriska reported on behalf of RB Brown that some poster award winners would be attending the fair. The new theme is Hear the Beep Where You Sleep.

Legislative Committee

Greg Carroll advised that he anticipates changes in the upcoming legislative session. CO and space heater deaths will be in the forefront. There is a LODD benefit change proposal on the agenda with language to include paramedics. A firefighter tax credit is also on the agenda again.

If anyone has legislative topics or concerns they want to discuss, contact the committee.

Membership Committee

Charlie Neubert reported the following membership counts: 522 Directors/Councilman; 276 Retired; 16 Associate; 12 Sustaining; 19 Corporate, 388 Departments; 7432 Active.

Nomination Committee

No report. President Hoover advised that Doug Christ has retired from O’Fallon FPD and therefore the District 10 Director position is now vacant.

NVFC Committee No report.

Scholarship Committee

Grant Oetting encouraged everyone to begin promoting the scholarship with the beginning of a new school year approaching.

State Fair Committee

Monty Thompson advised that the State Fair FD is ready to go in service Wednesday morning.

Website Committee No report.

Newsletter

Jaime Miller advised that the submission deadline for the next newsletter is September 1.

Historian report

Kay Asher advised she has received more things and is looking for more storage.

Funeral Team report

Harriett Vaucher reported that the golf tournament held on July 13 in St. Peters was well attended. 3 survivors and 144 golfers were present. There will be a Stair Climb in Clayton in September.

Terry Wynne thanked the team who assisted in Grundy County for the death of Firefighter Eric Lorenz. Many good comments were received.

Foundation report

Keith Smith reported that the Visitor Center next to the Memorial in Kingdom City is now the Kingdom City city hall. They still want to maintain a relationship with the foundation however, they are discussing storage options.

He reported that Ron Baker has resigned as the Foundation’s fundraising chairman.

There have been complains of grass and weed problems between the bricks. He has checked the site and the problems are being addressed.

The Foundation will be having a meeting in the near future to discuss recent changes.

Tim Bean moved to adjourn the meeting. Richard Gordon seconded the motion and all approved. President Hoover adjourned the meeting at 10:20 a.m.

Jaime Miller,
Secretary
Fire Fighters Association of Missouri