The Journey Begins

A lot of folks have suggested that I start a blog to keep my friends and colleagues informed about my adventures for the next year as the President of the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC).  This is my first attempt at a blog......so bear with me!  I'm sure I'll get better as I get used to the software.  My intent is to share my travels, experiences, and observations as I represent the fire service.

Dotty and I are on the way home now from Fire Rescue International, the big educational conference, trade show, and business meeting for the IAFC.  FRI was in Chicago this year.  What a terrific city!  Although I didn't get out of the hotel or convention center much, the weather was spectacular and we ate at some terrific restaurants.

I was blessed to have 4 company officers from our fire department at the conference, along with a couple of Board members from my home department, the North County Fire Protection District.  The best evening out was Friday evening when we had a group dinner for our friends and fire department family.  What a great way to celebrate.

Saturday morning, I was sworn in as President of the IAFC.  My closest friend, Cliff Myers, was there to swear us in and too many friends to count were at the Presidential Celebration to congratulate me.  I'm not a stranger to the Board as I have served 4 years as Treasurer and 2 years as 2nd and 1st Vice President, but the new role is going to be different and challenging.  I'm looking forward to serving and giving back to my profession.  I had the opportunity to give a few remarks (I guess you could call it my inaugural speech).  In it, I challenged the fire service to take on what I think are 4 critical issues:
-  Leadership Development in the Fire Service
-  Renewing our commitment and support of Diversity and Inclusiveness in the fire service
-  Raising awareness of the growing problem of cancer among firefighters
-  Commiting to not just a reduction, but elimination of firefighter line of duty deaths
I got lots of positive feedback and Fire Rescue Magazine has already electronically shared my thoughts with the 50,000 subscribers to their on-line edition.

It was a long week, but very satisfying. It was a blessing to have Dotty along for all of the events and activities....too many to describe here.  I was reminded of how broad and diverse the fire department family is across the nation and around the world.  In addition to all of my US colleagues, I was able to share the week with chiefs from more than 22 other countries.  While our languages may differ, many of our issues are the same.

Home briefly and then on the road again later this week to Denver to speak at a major International Association of Firefighters (IAFF) conference.

My journey as IAFC President begins.....I hope you enjoy coming along.