Message from the President Greetings Everyone, I hope you all had a great holiday season celebrating with friends and family. It’s a New Year and the Virginia Association of Volunteer Rescue Squads Inc. has hit the ground running. We are so fortunate to have an amazing Office Staff, Edward “Bubby Bish Executive Director, Carol Gothard Administrative Assistant and Brian Bilheimer Training Coordinator. All three of these folks work tirelessly for Our Association. We have many Volunteers that also spend a lot of time at the office to assist wherever needed. Thank you to the Staff, Gary Dalton and Any Neagle for all your hard work and dedication. VAVRS members and agencies have experienced much sadness in 2023 due to health concerns and the loss of so many of our individual agency members and the passing of several Iconic members of the Association. Our thoughts and prayers go out to those who continue to recover and to the families of those who passed, may God bless you all. On Saturday November 4th, 2023 we held an Officer Orientation Session at the VAVRS State office, facilitated by Steve Southworth. We had good attendance from the majority of the officers along with most Committee Chairs and an outstanding group of Junior Officers and Advisors. Some of the topics covered were Code of Ethics, Legal & Fiduciary Issues for BOD, Finance/Budget, Bylaws and Policies, Training Priorities 2024 and District VP Responsibilities and a lot of round table discussion on ways to move the Association into 2024. I would like to recognize a group of the “Unsung Heroes” of VAVRS, that is all of our Instructors. These dedicated individuals spend hours upon hours in the field and classrooms all over the Commonwealth, usually on the weekends, away from their families, without compensation, other than expenses. In the VAVRS Mission Statement “Providing training to its members” is a bullet point. In my opinion we have some of the Best Instructors in the State. Thank you all, I know how hard you all work and it will not go unnoticed. In closing, we all have a responsibility to keep ourselves, our crews and providers Trained and Safe, don’t let them down. I’m honored to serve as your President, Thank you for the opportunity. Stay Safe, John John H. Craig lll, VAVRS President
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