Terry Essary: OFCA 3rd Vice President’s Report

Hi everyone! I want to start off by saying how thankful I am to serve as your 3rd Vice President! This is an incredible honor.

I became an OFCA member about 10 years ago after promoting to Battalion Chief, and the first event that I attended was the Winter Workshop. Although I don’t remember the exact details of the event, I do remember how energized, and humble I felt being surrounded by so many people that were extremely knowledgeable and passionate about leadership in the fire service.

I can honestly say it changed the trajectory of my career, and amplified the service I provide my department and my community. It is extremely refreshing to network with and befriend others who share the same challenges and love for the job. I can’t imagine not being a part of this amazing organization.

I know you’re all probably asking why I wanted to run for the board. Well, it really comes down to a couple of things.

First, I want to help further the mission of building positive working relationships between all firefighters in our state.

Also, I am passionate about honoring the great traditions of our profession as well as moving boldly into the future by embracing and intertwining knowledge, science, and experience into how we lead, train, and operate on the fire ground.

I’m 49 years old. I went to high school in Stratford, and attended East Central University where I received a Bachelor’s Degree in criminology.

I started as a volunteer firefighter for Stratford Fire Department in 1994, and began my career with Stillwater Fire in 1997.

I have risen through the ranks and was a Battalion Chief before becoming Fire Chief in January of 2021.

I have had the opportunity to serve as a medic for the Stillwater Police Department’s Special Operations Team. I completed the first cohort of Oklahoma Executive Fire Officer, and I am currently a member on the OSFA Legislative Committee.

I always knew that I wanted to be a first responder, but it wasn’t until I had the opportunity to become a volunteer for Stratford Fire Department that I knew I wanted to fully commit to the Fire Service. That opportunity ignited my passion for firefighting.

I’ve been extremely fortunate to have been able to serve as a firefighter for over 28 years, and I can honestly say that my passion burns every bit as bright now as it did then.

I love the Oklahoma Fire Service for a multitude of reasons, but one that really stands out is the relentless dedication that our men and women show every single day as they protect and serve the people in their communities.

It doesn’t matter if it’s an all-volunteer department or a 1,000 person career department, we all have a heart to serve our communities and leave our profession better than we found it.

I have so many highlights in my career that it’s really hard to choose, but I would have to say that becoming Fire Chief is number one. It is the greatest honor of my career to represent the amazing men and women of Stillwater Fire Department. It is also very humbling to become Chief of a department that has such a rich history in the Fire Service.

Even though we all have our share of challenges, it is an exciting time to be a leader in the fire service. We have an almost endless supply of quality information and training opportunities through podcasts, YouTube videos, the Fire Safety Research Institute and other forms of free and easily accessible content that we often take for granted.

I am extremely excited to start working as your 3rd Vice President, and I want you to know that it’s a great honor to be able to represent you, and work side by side with each of you as we boldly lead our fire service into the future.

Michael Baker: OFCA 2nd Vice President’s Report

The OFCA Conference has just wrapped up, and I hope everyone had a great time!

Now “Past President” James Heap hosted a great event with superb entertainment and one of the largest vendor areas I can recall.

On a personal note, a thank you to President Heap for making my first year on the OFCA Board a great experience. His leadership and mentorship will forever be appreciated. I look forward to working with the new OFCA Board under Chief Kelley’s leadership and welcome the new 3rd Vice President Chief Terry Essary from Stillwater Fire to the team.

As the new OFCA 2nd Vice President, I want to remind you that January is only nine months away and I am looking forward to the 2024 OFCA Winter Workshop the week of January 24th in Stillwater.

I am already compiling a list of updates to the agenda based on your feedback and that of the other board members. I am also gathering an updated list of vendors and coordinating some new ones, as well.

Finally, if you have educational content that you would like to share, or want to see a specific program, send me an email. Mark your calendar for the Winter Workshop. We are looking forward to seeing you!

My takeaway from my first year on the board is that Oklahoma fire service leadership does not always originate within the larger departments across the state. Small departments play a big role in developing our fire service leaders and influence the direction of all departments in many ways.

I am excited to stand with Chief Heap in his Past President year project of improving the standards for Fire Chiefs across our state.

Within the Tulsa Fire Department, my command staff and I have committed to improving our own leadership development.

One of the things I have noticed is that firefighters often “wait” to prepare themselves for promotion. Let me explain the best I can. From my view, it appears that from day one we have our new firefighters “wait” for instruction/orders. As a new firefighter, order-based action is important for everyone’s safety, but over time, the culture of wait may be hindering their career development. Additionally, our whole job is based on waiting. We report for duty, check out gear and wait for a response.

My point is, we need to start the discussion about self-preparation early and remind our firefighters that they must be prepared for the role they desire within the fire service.

If you want to be a Captain or even the Fire Chief, our members must know the path and the education that is required for success. Sometimes, incredible firefighters find themselves unable to respond to the call for leadership.

As Chief Officers, we must start with a simple conversation to our firefighters encouraging them to be ready for leadership and then provide opportunities for staff development if we expect our profession to prosper.

The busy months are upon us with the State Fire School and the OSFA Convention. Be safe and keep learning.

Kent Lagaly: OFCA Executive Director’s Report

Greetings! As most of you are aware, we just finished up with our annual conference. Chief Heap and the Frederick Fire Department, with help from Chief Williams and his staff at Lawton, did an outstanding job, and I know that all who attended appreciate their hard work. If you were not able to make it to Lawton, you missed a great program. I hope you will be able to come to OKC next year.

At the conference, the membership was presented with several constitutional resolutions for consideration. All the resolutions pertained to the Constitution and By-Laws of this organization. The resolutions submitted by the legislative committee were in an effort to “modernize” the way this organization and executive board conducts business in an ever-changing society.

Our hope was that these changes and additions would allow us to serve all of you in a more efficient manner. All the resolutions were approved unanimously by those present and will take effect on July 1, 2023. Raegan and I are going to work hard to have all these changes made and the new version of the Constitution and By-Laws posted on the website by July 1.

When you can look at the Constitution and By-Laws, I want you to notice that the Motto and Purpose DID NOT change.

For over 100 years this has not changed, and for good reason. No matter what the changes are in our society, the men and women who started the OFCA knew exactly what the Fire Service and citizens of Oklahoma needed -- an organization that would help Chief Officers grow professionally and personally and allow them to better serve the citizens of Oklahoma. If you’re not familiar with what the Motto and Purpose are, I will save you the time of looking on the website:

The motto of this association is : “We serve to provide professional leadership concerning fire and life safety for the citizens of the Great State of Oklahoma.”

The purpose of this Association is to improve fire department administration, fire prevention, fire suppression and fire services delivery throughout the State of Oklahoma by providing educational, networking, coordination and support opportunities to its members.

In recognition of unity and professionalism, the Association aspires to respect the individual perspectives of the membership in a manner that encourages open and honest communication in a professional and ethical manner.

It’s no different now than it was over 100 years ago. We are all faced with a variety of challenges as chief officers. Each day it seems as if we are dealing with a new issue within our department. One of the most important things I have discovered is that although these “issues” may be new to me, chances are, some other chief officer has had a similar challenge in the past. The benefit this organization provides us to network with others who can share information and their personal experiences is the key to being a successful chief officer.

In closing, I want to challenge each of you to reach out to someone who may not understand the purpose of this organization and encourage them to not only join the OFCA but more important, engage and participate. I promise that it will help them become better Chief Officers.

Until next time, be safe.

Frederick FD