The Fire Trailer News

Transcription

1 Winter 2014 Volume 21, Issue 4 The Fire Trailer News Officers: PRESIDENT S MESSAGE President Bill Knight Bill Knight First Vice-President John Dancsecs, Jr Second Vice-President Perry Hopkins Secretary Mickey Howard Treasurer Laurel Mason Greetings! I hope this Newsletter find you and yours well. I would first like to express my appreciation to outgoing President Ron Reagan for his fine leadership this past year and to also thank the board and committee chairs who volunteer countless hours for the Association. I also thank each of you who have supported me over the past years and for allowing me the opportunity to serve as president of such a great organization. I have been a member of GFIA since 1988 and have missed only one seminar for reasons outside of my control. The upcoming year will present many challenges but with the support of the membership, we will meet each challenge head on. My goal is to continue to help the organization grow and strive for excellence in all that we do. The Southeastern Annual Training Conference was a huge success this year. Participants have had nothing but positive things to say about our speakers and program content. We are in the planning stages of our 2015 conferences and I am sure you will be pleased to know we are moving back to Savannah in August (woo hoo)! Continued page -2- Election Results Individual Highlights: Save the Dates 2 Committee Chairs 3 Minutes of Annual Meeting 4 Congratulations to Perry Hopkins! Perry was elected as our Second Vice President for the upcoming year. Mickey Howard will continue to serve as our Secretary and Laurel Mason will continue in her role as Treasurer. As you are aware, there were four proposed amendments to the Association By-Laws on the ballot. All four amendments passed. Our website has been updated and a copy of the amended By-Llaws is included in this publication. If you would like to serve as a future officer, please let an officer or board member know. The continued success of our organization depends upon the involvement of our membership. Nominations are now being accepted for offices of Second Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer. Nominations must be in writing and seconded. You may send your nominations to Chair Kenny Wright or one of the committee members: Mark Dietrichs, Tony Nix, Dana Mason or Paul MaGahee. Nominations will be open until May 31, 2015.

2 The Fire Trailer News Page 2 of 6 President s Message continued At our Annual Awards Luncheon, I was honored to present the Lifetime Membership Award to Laurel Mason for her dedication and service to the GFIA for the past 32 years. Please join me in congratulating Laurel for this achievement. President Ron Regan also presented Kevin and Susan Cunningham with an Award of Special Recognition for their dedication, hard work and countless hours of service the organization. A great deal of the success of our training programs can be attributed to Kevin s and Susan s efforts. Thanks again for allowing me to serve as your president. In closing, if you would like to volunteer to serve on any committee, offer any training classes or have ideas for classes, please contact either myself or Kevin Cunningham. I look forward to seeing you in McDonough, but in the meantime, please don t hesitate to call on me if need be Spring Seminar The Henry County Fire Department has again graciously volunteered to host the Spring Seminar. The Seminar will be held at Heritage Park March 24 27, Watch the website for additional details! SAVE THE DATES 2015 Annual Seminar Yes, you heard correctly, we are moving back to Savannah. Mark your calendars for the week of July 27, Our host hotel will again be the Savannah Riverfront Marriott. While we are still in the initial planning stages, we have confirmed Michele Stuart with JAG Investigations for a full two day presentation. If you missed her class this past August, ask any of the folks in attendance. Within the first fifteen minutes, she had everyone looking at their Smartphones when they learned they just thought they had their privacy settings addressed. A must see class! Board of Directors The Board of Directors is comprised of the five elected officers: Bill Knight, John Dancsecs, Perry Hopkins, Mickey Howard and Laurel Mason and the immediate four past presidents: Ron Reagan, Kevin Wallace, Keith Bell, and Doug Byron. In addition, eligible presidents of the individual districts also hold a seat on the Board. Unfortunately, there has been little to no representation from the districts within the past several years. In fact, there is some question as to whether the majority of the districts are still formed. Continued Page -3-

3 Page 3 of 6 The Fire Trailer News GFIA Committee Chairs Position: Name: Employer: Phone: Finance John Dancsecs City of Milton Fire & Rescue jdancsecs@windstream.net By-Laws/Legal Jim Fisher Hall, Booth & Slover jhf@hbss.net EP&G Mark Dietrichs Swift, Currie, McGhee & Hiers mtd@scmhlaw.com T&E Kevin Cunningham Cunningham Investigations kevincis@comcast.net Nominating/ Elections Kenny Wright Kenny Wright Investigations knwright@bellsouth.net Editor (interim) Teresa McAfee State Farm Insurance teresa.mcafee.axzt@statefarm.com Membership Sara Bonner Analytical Forensic Associates sara@afalabs.com CFI Certification Ralph Newell Newell Investigative Services nisi1@bellsouth.net Web Master Dana Mason David Smith and Associates dmason@davidsmithfire.com Chaplain Joe Kelley Henry County Fire Department jkelley@co.henry.ga.us Parliamentarian Teresa McAfee State Farm Insurance teresa.mcafee.axzt@statefarm.com 921 Committee Awards Doug Byron Forensic & Scientific Testing, Inc dbyron@fast-lab.com Board of Directors continued President Knight requests that the president or acting president of each of the districts contact him as soon as possible.

4 Minutes 2014 Annual Meeting The Fire Trailer News Page 4 of 6 Minutes of the Annual Meeting of the Association August 6, 2014 Call to Order: President Reagan called the meeting to order at 4:59 p.m. Membership Present: Ron Reagan, Bill Knight, John Dancsecs, Kevin Wallace, Laurel Mason, Charlie Mangan, Doug Byron and general membership (25). Standing Committee Reports: Secretary s Report: Motion by Kevin Cunningham, seconded by Kevin Wallace, to waive the reading of the minutes and accept them as published. Motion carried. Treasurer s Report: Laurel Mason reported we have approximately $60,000 in our accounts. There are some outstanding expenses related to the seminar. Taxes have been paid. Finances of the Association are in good standing. Motion by Doug Byron to accept the report, seconded by Joe Kelley. Motion carried. Finance Committee: First Vice-President Bill Knight reported he has reviewed the books of Association and there were no discrepancies. Motion by David Adams to accept the report. Seconded by John Dancsecs. Motion carried. Ethics Committee: Nothing to report. Certification Committee: On behalf of the chair, Kevin Cunningham stated there are presently two members completing the necessary paperwork to challenge the exam. Membership Committee: Chair Sara Bonner reported our current active membership is 289 including 18 new members approved by the Board earlier in the day. Sara also reported that in the future, new applicants will be posed to the Board on a monthly basis as opposed to waiting until the Semi or Annual Meetings. Training & Education Committee: Chair Kevin Cunningham reported our attendance was down this year with only 137 attendees. The seminar was progressing well. Next year s Annual Seminar will be held the week of July 28 th in Savannah, Georgia. Nominating Committee: Chair Kenny Wright advised that all amendments to the Constitution & By-Laws passed. The By-Laws will be updated on the web site. Members may view or print from the site. Perry Hopkins was elected incoming 2 nd Vice-President and Mickey Howard and Laurel Mason were re-elected as Secretary and Treasurer respectively. Motion by Teresa McAfee to accept the report. Seconded by Kevin Cunningham. Motion passed. continued

5 Page 5 of 6 The Fire Trailer News Minutes of Annual Meeting continued District Reports: Bill Knight reported that the SW District meets the first Wednesday of the even numbered months for training. They currently have 18 members and have $2,600 in their account. No other districts were present. Unfinished Business: None New Business: None Motion made by Kevin Cunningham to adjourn, seconded by Kevin Wallace. Meeting adjourned at 5:08 p.m. BOARD MEETING & SEMI-ANNUAL MEETING In conjunction with the Spring Seminar, the next meeting of the board will be Wednesday, March 25th at Noon at the Heritage Park in McDonough, Georgia. Please contact President Bill Knight to confirm your attendance. The Semi-Annual Meeting of the Association will be held immediately following class on Wednesday, March 25.

6 P.O. Box 382 Snellville, GA Membership Chair Sara Bonner Training & Education Chair Kevin Cunningham The Fire Trailer News is the official organ of the Georgia Fire Investigator s Association. We re on the Web! See us at: