OSFA Directors

Hello to all members of the OSFA! This is our second magazine issue. I hope everyone enjoyed the first magazine as much as I did. I feel it was a great improvement from the old newspaper. It had some new things like the Oklahoma

Ret. Moore FD

Fire Chiefs Section. I would like to thank the OSFA board for the appointment of Executive Director after a year as the Interim Executive Director. I will try to work to help the OSFA move forward in the direction that the membership has set forth at the 127th Convention. All resolutions passed at convention, and only one was modified by the delegates. It was the dues increase, which is to start now in 2023. This was to give more time for cities and towns, to budget for this increase. All of these resolutions are on the OSFA Web site for viewing. The OSFA Board will be picking all the committee members by the time this magazine comes out or shortly thereafter. These committee and their members are the backbone of the OSFA. They do the work that helps give direction to the fire service. The David Bain Memorial Golf Tournament is Sept. 15 at Lincoln Park. It starts at 1 p.m., so call and get yourself registered early to avoid the rush! We plan to eat at the Memorial again afterwards. The Public Fire Education Summit at Children’s Center Rehabilitation Hospital is Sept. 23 at noon in Bethany. The Statewide Memorial Service is Oct. 3 at 2 p.m. We plan on having loved ones who have lost firefighters here, as was done two years ago. We will also be showing it on Facebook Live for those who cannot attend. We are in the process of adding names to the Wall of Valor and engraving panels for the Living section of the Memorial. We have not added names since 2016. ORFA will host its golf tournament on Oct. 20 in Shawnee, so please mark your calendar. Lunch is at noon and tee-off is 1 p.m. The first phase of the museum expansion should be under way again by the time this magazine gets to you. We have been working through a few issues but we think it is all done. We are waiting on the building permit will get issued. This project has been well over a year working through all the problems and additional changes needed by the City of Oklahoma City. Thanks for the service you provide to the cities and towns across this state as firefighters. Be safe and God Bless each and every one of you for what you do!

Meet Tippy Pierce, Executive Director of OSFA & ORFA

Tippy was born in Guymon and raised in Texhoma in the Panhandle of Oklahoma. In 1973, he joined the Texhoma (Texas) FD. In 1978, he moved to the Texhoma (Okla.) FD where he served as Fire Chief from 1985-88. He was Moore FD Training Majors Mark Murdock, hired by the Moore FD Randy Lemons and Tippy as a firefighter in 1988 and retired in 2009. Tippy has also been activley involved with the OSFA for years. He served on the Educational Advisory Committee from 1983-93; was on the Safety & Health Committee from its inception to 1994, helping write the Mission Statement for the committee; and served on the Legislative Committee from 1994-2013. Pierce also worked for the OSFA from 1988-2005. He started out mowing the lawn and helping out in the museum. By 1994, he was taking care of all the accounts as the comptroller and created the quickbooks program used for bookkeeping by the OSFA. In a recent ques-

Playing “cut-throat firefighter” Hearts at the station tion-and-answer are Tippy, Lynn Miles and Ken Streeter session with Oklahoma Firefighter, Pierce, 70, shared the following:

Tippy with fellow Moore firefighters Shonn Neidel and Jeff Elmore

When did you know you wanted to be a fire-

fighter? In 1962, I got a Texaco pumper. I was 11 and that was where it all started! I would fantasize about putting a fire out with my toy fire truck!

What did you like best about being a fire-

fighter? For me, it was being a part of something where you felt as a part of something bigger than yourself and had the opportunity help my fellow man!

What did a year as Interim

Executive Director teach you? That we have an Executive Board for the OSFA and the ORFA that cares about the fire service and the needs of all the members -- both active and retired, paid or volunteer. We service 16,000+ from 573 departments across Oklahoma.

OSFA & Museum Staff

Executive Director

Tippy Pierce tippy@osfa.info

Administrative Director

Sheri Nickel sherin@osfa.info

Museum Director

Gene Brown geneb@osfa.info

Museum Assistant

Quintin James quintinj@osfa.info

Museum Assistant

Bob Noll bobn@osfa.info

Museum Assistant

Brendon Pierce brendonp@osfa.info

Can you imagine if all of the sudden all of our modern technology -- iPhones, cars with GPS, Bluetooth and backup camera -- or our Wi-Fi was taken away from us and we all had to revert back to

Orlando FD what it was like 20 years ago? Or what if the only people allowed on fire departments were white males, the way it was back in the 1950s? While some of us remember those days and would willingly survive and reminisce about the good ol’ days and how times were simpler, some of us would freak out and be miserable. While we all walk around being cool with our fancy iPhones, we need to step back and think about the guy who invented these contraptions -- Steve Jobs. But, without Adele Goldberg, the Apple may not be what it is today. Goldberg was the lone woman among a group of men who, in the 1970s, together, built programming language and developed the infrastructure that was the basis of what we use today.

OSFA ARCHIVE Who do we have to thank for hybrid car batteries? Here’s a bit of history you may or may not Annie Easley, an know about your association: African-American woman who worked for NASA and At the 34th OSFA Convention developed and implemented code that in 1928, women attending the led to the development of the battery event held a meeting to discuss used in the first hybrid cars. organizing a Women’s Auxiliary. Leonard da Vinci, who painted the The next day, their request Mona Lisa, a renaissance man, a genius to become affiliated with the of art, science and engineering, as well firemen’s association was unani- as Michelangelo, sculptor of monumously granted. mental male nudes, are both thought The OSFA Women’s Auxiliary to be gay. held its 89th Convention in June. You may be scratching your head, wondering why I bring up these peoServing multiple terms as OSFAWA President ple who aren’t related to the fire service 1929 & 1931 Mrs. E.H. Miller, McAlester in any way. It is to simply point out 1939 & 1949 Mrs. Gene Cook, Blackwell that the diversity of people in society 1941-46 Mrs. George Stewart, Tulsa throughout time have made a great 1955-56 Mrs. H.O. Whittenton, Sapulpa impact on who we are today. 1973 & 1976 Mrs. Doug (Glenna) Herren, MWC OSFA has more diverse leadership 1977 & 1979 Mrs. John (Lucy) Hardin, Bethany right now than any other time in the 1981 & 2011 Mrs. Jerry (Susan) Abraham, Lawton 127-year history of the organization. 1994 & 2012 Mrs. Tippy (Martha) Pierce, Moore We are a political organization that 2004 & 2017 Mrs. Dana (Diana) Cramer, Norman has become accustomed to accepting 2014 & 2021 Mrs. Yogi (Michele) Cole, Tulsa the difference between political parties but hasn’t ever welcomed men and

Your Success is Our Success. women with different ethical identities to the table like we are right now. People who are different from one another in race, gender and other dimensions bring unique information and experiences to bear on the task at hand. Diversity enhances creativity. It encourages the search for fresh information and perspectives, hopefully leading to better decision making and problem solving. We have already started sailing our ship in a different direction with the introduction of the Oklahoma Firefighter magazine and the creation of our new website that will soon offer improved ways of renewing membership or registering for events. We are busy digitizing historical records and updating our data base to be as accurate as possible. Understanding the needs of all of our members has become more important than ever and we are utilizing the talent in all of our employees, board members and committee members to embrace the diversity of our membership and offer a more modern approach to how we do things. Have we cracked the code on diversity and inclusion within this organization? Depends on which perspective you take when forming your opinion. What if the rainbow of historical figures didn’t get a chance to speak up and offer their ideas to make our lives easier? Beutel Goodman is a proud supporter of the Oklahoma State Firefighters Association I am most certain that most of us don’t even want to think about fighting fire like they did 20-30 years ago. Diversity isn’t just about gender or race. It’s also about diversity of background and mindset. We are building relationships that haven’t traditionally been formed and, with that, we are able to offer more opportunities for our members. We are stepping outside of the comfort zone and developing a www.beutelgoodman.com new energy that may be more attractive to firefighters whom have never realized the value of the Association.