OSFA Directors

Wow, what a whirlwind start to 2022! I would first like to thank the amazing staff at the OSFA for all of their hard work. They’re rock stars! If you haven’t visited our website in a while, please check it out at www.osfa.info. There you will find information about upcoming events and resources. Just since the first of the year, we have assisted with the Chief’s Winter Workshop, held a virtual Volunteer Caucus, had a successful Legislative Reception and assisted with the 100th Annual Chief’s Conference. We are preparing for the upcoming State Fire School and the ORFA and OSFA annual conventions. Please make plans to attend these valuable events! The State Fire School will once again be held in Tulsa May 12-15 and is free to all OSFA members. The OSFA Convention will be held in Enid June 8-11, and the registration and credentialing will be online. OSFA President Cliff Davidson and his convention committee have been working hard to provide a great event!

Do you realize that you own a museum? What about an amazing Memorial where our brothers and sisters who have served as members for 20 years or given the ultimate sacrifice are honored? Both of these are located at 2716 NE 50th St. in Oklahoma City, and they belong to you. If you’ve never visited, I highly recommend that you come check them out. A portion of your dues support the maintenance of each. You can further support them by applying for and maintaining an Oklahoma Firefighter’s Special license plate for each of your vehicles. The application form for Firefighter License Plates is on the OSFA website (under Resources).

Am I the only one who sometimes wonders if our world has completely gone mad? I can’t remember a time in history where people were so quick to take offense toward others. I will acknowledge that pandemics and

politics have exacerbated this divide however it is pervasive in all aspects of society including families. Family -- the mere mention of the word elicits many different thoughts and emotions. It’s often said that blood is thicker than water which is obviously a true statement. And it is also an analogy meaning family Ret. OKC FD bonds are the strongest. Admittedly, we have all seen instances where that was true and others that left us wondering. I was fortunate to be able to join a family in 1986 where I truly felt like a part of something special. I’ve seen the family dynamics ebb and flow as is the case in any family. However, my experience has always been that this family -- the Oklahoma Fire Service -- has a bond like no other. We often spend more time together than we do our own families. We eat together, train together, respond together, sacrifice together, laugh, cry, and even sometimes die together. And as strong as that bond can be, am I the only one who feels like we’ve left the station door open a little too long and allowed all of the strife, pain, hard feelings, bruised and brokenness seep into our ranks? Where now, it seems easier to be upset with someone rather than embrace them as they are and acknowledge them as your brother or sister. Maybe I’m on an island, out of touch, or I’m the one who has gone totally mad. All are a distinct possibility! I would however offer this challenge: Instead of being so quick to find fault or find offense with your brother or sister, stop and realize that we are all firefighters or once were! Start with we are firefighters first and always! All firefighters sacrifice a lot to fulfill the calling and passion that drives us all and makes us unique. I challenge each of you to do your part and support one another. Strive to improve yourself, crew, station, department and associations. Our organization, your OSFA, serves all firefighters throughout the state and that wouldn’t be possible without each of you! Thanks for your support and May God Bless you and yours! Stay safe Brothers and Sisters.

PURCHASE AN OKLAHOMA FIREFIGHTER LICENSE TAG!

• Oklahoma Firefighter tags cost $40 a year (on top of regular tag fees) • $20 goes directly to the Oklahoma Firefighters Museum/Memorial • Tags can be purchased from local tag agents any time during the year • Tags can be customized to 6 letters as approved by the Tax Commission

Let’s take a look at our association. We have well over 900 fire departments from all across Oklahoma in our database, and about 510 have renewed their membership for 2022. While having over half of the fire departments in the state as members definitely gives up strength, it saddens me to think that there are other members that don’t see the value of being a member of the OSFA. Some may feel successful and take care of their own. Others may not have the funding to be able to pay the annual dues. Or perhaps it is as simple as not wanting to do the additional paperwork to complete the membership packet. Many organizations consider their strength by numbers. While this certainly rings true even in ours, it is not the absolute. The real value comes in the participation of their members. Our committees are one example of this. We are competing with the lives of our members who are juggling work, family and maybe school activities, and then we ask them to add one more commitment

to volunteer their time to focus on one particular area of the fire service. As we move forward, we are all finding it more and more difficult to maintain the level of participation that we need to be successful. Orlando FD So, as leaders of our association, we must find ways to meet the needs of our members. What was working 20 years ago may not work now. Many of the young people who are coming onto our fire departments do not understand the value of being an involved member of the OSFA, and we are recognizing the deficit as time continues to move forward. We have been making changes over the last couple of years, and not without dismay of our traditionalists. Building a bond and finding a sense of commitment to all of our members is our goal as we move forward. You have already started seeing changes, and you will continue to do so as we grow our association. This year’s convention credentials and registration are only available online. You will need to go to www.osfa.info and register under events. For those of you who wait until the last minute, or assume that the staff will take care of you, please realize that isn’t the case. Just like every other business in the United States right now, we are working with minimum staff. The two ladies in our office are the most phenomenal staff members that I have ever had the privilege of working with and are 100% all in when it comes to taking care of members. So whenever you arrive at convention, know that they have not left any stone unturned to take care of the details of taking care of any of you. Other changes will be noticed, as well. There won’t be a formal Memorial Service at this year’s convention. It was determined that there was a level of redundancy in providing this event twice a year to families. The fishing tournament and the shooting event were canceled this year, as well. Participation and profit margin has been on the decline, making it hard to justify continuing on. There are new events being offered. The OSFA Women’s Auxiliary is introducing a Cornhole Tournament during the picnic. And an old-fashioned Fire Truck Pull will be in between the picnic and the bar crawl. The Fire Truck Pull puts a bit of tradition back into the association while demonstrating that members can work together as a team and join in a friendly competition. Our strength is in our members -- young and old. Be an advocate, be involved, stay involved and strengthen our organization.

OSFA & Museum Expansion Plans OSFA & Museum Expansion Plans

OSFA & Museum Staff OSFA & Museum Staff

Executive Director (Interim) Executive Director Mike Kelley Mike Kelley mkelley@osfa.info mkelley@osfa.info

Administrative Director Administrative Director Sheri Nickel Sheri Nickel sherin@osfa.info sherin@osfa.info

Administrative Administrative Assistant/Membership Assistant/Membership Madelyn Roth Madelyn Roth madelynr@osfa.info madelynr@osfa.info

Administrative Administrative

Assistant/OFCA Raegan Layne raeganl@osfa.info Assistant/OFCA Raegan Layne raeganl@osfa.info

Publications

Penelope SoldanPublications penelopes@osfa.info Penelope Soldan penelopes@osfa.info

Museum Director Museum Director Gene Brown Gene Brown geneb@osfa.info geneb@osfa.info

Museum Assistant Museum Assistant Quintin James Quintin James quintinj@osfa.info quintinj@osfa.info

Museum Assistant Museum Assistant Bob Noll Bob Noll bobn@osfa.info bobn@osfa.info

Museum Assistant Lance Gill lanceg@osfa.info Museum Assistant Lance Gill lanceg@osfa.info Museum Assistant Brendon Pierce brendonp@osfa.info

Cary Provence

Captain-Yukon Fire Department

Candidate for OSFA 3rd Vice President “A Good Leader Must Be a Great Servant”

• 22 years of service to the Yukon Fire Department • OSFA Member since 2000 5 years on Educational Advisory Committee (Current year chairman) 2 years on Legislative Committee (Current year chairman) • Graduate of Oklahoma Executive Fire Officer Program • Member of the US&R Team - Oklahoma Task Force 1