August was another great month for your Cumberland Valley Volunteer Fireman’s Association, the Emergency Response Safety Institute, and Respondersafety.com. Two very important events occurred which I believe stand as a testimony to the value of what we provide to the fire and emergency service world.
Yes my friends, we have done it again, we have received another grant through the Assistance to Firefighters program. This infusion of much-needed funding will allow us to continue our critical work, broaden our educational capabilities, and provide more training to fire, police, and EMS personnel around our nation.
In addition to our continued funding, we have been honored with another prestigious award for our highway safety efforts. It was in Denver, Colorado that our C.V.V.F.F.A. President, Jerry Daniels, accepted the Chief Billy Goldfeder Organizational Safety Award from the International Association of Fire Chief’s Health and Safety and Safety Section.
This was an exciting moment for us C.V.V.F.A. members who were in the audience. It was truly a privilege for our association to receive the award from Billy G. himself. Our organization was nominated by Chief Dennis Compton from Arizona. In his nomination he spoke of the innovative history of our organization.
Dennis spoke of us as an organization dedicated to innovative changes throughout our history. He lauded our efforts to make life a bit safer on the highways of our great nation. He went on to note that our efforts have made a difference at every level of government from the local right on up to the federal level.
This is the second year in a row that our dedicated efforts, which are designed to make life safer on the highways, have been recognized at the national level. Last year we won the first-ever award of the Senator Paul Sarbanes Organizational Safety award which was presented to us by the Congressional Fire Service Institute.
My friends, we do not do what we do for the glory. Each of us has lost a friend or an associate who was struck and killed or injured on the highways of our great nation. We know the pain which comes from such tragedies. We also know the feelings of sorrow and emptiness felt during these times of suffering. We want to see such pain and suffering eliminated from the police, fire, and EMS world. That is what we are all about.
It is not our intention to rest upon our laurels. It is far too early in the war to declare victory. My friends we are just finishing the first couple of battles in a war will last at least for the next fifty years. Join with us to broaden our reach into your individual communities.