Northern Virginia Fools News

It’s amazing how long a year can look on a calendar, but time sure does fly by. Here we are in September, and soon the holidays will be upon us. Sooner than you would expect, we will be knee deep in 2010. Now is the time to start planning for the upcoming year. Many chapters should take this time to “Clean house” and prep for another exciting year. By doing this now, creates an easy start in January and sets the stage for your chapter. Let’s look at ways we can “Clean house” to make 2010 even better than 2009.

One of the first things we need to make sure is that your membership rosters are correct as well as up to date. Making sure that correct/current spelling of names, addresses and emails are present as well as chapter rosters mimicking Internationals rosters makes January easier for all of us. This is to ensure that proper dues are assessed as well as all members are covered with our AD&D insurance policy.

How about your budget, is it correct? Do you even have a line item budget? If the answer is no, then now is the time to make this happen. Part of the responsibility that every chapter has is to create and have a budget. Some would ask why, well if you are pulling in any money, then you as a 501c3 chapter are required to have a budget. Have you registered your chapter as a 501c3 chapter? I hope the answer is yes, if not, or you are having trouble we can help but it needs to happen.

For those of you who are participating in St. Baldrick’s next year now is the time to start planning this event. This is one of the charitable organizations we have chosen to stand next to. What they do for cancer research is important not just for us as firemen on the job, but also for those who have retired as well as our families. Not to mention it also gives us a good chance at seeing certain members with a shinny noggin. Along with that event we want to take time to aide another one of the charities we stand side by side which is Hero to Hero. This organization asks that we donate FD T-shirts from us to the troop’s protecting our country and freedom. Now by doing both of these events at once is a no brainer and easy. Chapters can do this alone, or cluster together to really produce a big event. Another charity organization we walk with is the Terry Farrell Firefighters Fund. This organization asks that we help them with staffing and their returned help to us is unlimited. You can have them at your training or fundraising events, and yes you can do this all at once, but you must plan it.

Many chapters that we have spoken to are thinking about do some training next year. Effective training needs planning and now is the time to do this so you’re not behind the eight ball. Also by doing this you can start throwing dates when you would like to schedule your training in hopes that we can avoid training venues from overlapping with other chapter or national events. Also by doing this creates an avenue for chapters to come together or bring specific members from other chapters to your training events such as those in Washington and Alaska or New Jersey and New England.

Speaking of venues, next April 19-24 is FDIC and September 22-26 is our convention. Planning is a need now to make sure that your schedule and finances are together. FDIC is in Indy and we are already talking with Pennwell publishing on what we are doing. I know the Indy Metro FOOLS are already getting ready for us and we don’t want to let them down. The convention this year is going to be in sunny Orlando Florida, during September no less which is a great time of the year and we are making this again a time for us and our families. The time frame three days before and after the convention is being offered by the hotel to remain the same with its rates just for us. So we have time to get done what we need to do, and have time for our families for a wonderful vacation. Homme Team, Treasure Coast and Central Florida FOOLS are really working hard to make this be another great convention, and if you haven’t been in a while, ask someone who has been to the last couple of conventions. They will tell you that it is the one event you need to attend to “Recharge” the old batteries.

So now you can see that by planning or cleaning house now is so important now. Starting this now is something that will take you into the New Year and keeps your chapter on task. If you have questions or need some direction the International Executive Board is always available.

By: Eric DePoto

President@foolsinternational.com

President

FOOLS International

July 2009 Executive Report

Well, if you missed this year’s convention, you did miss out on one hell of an event. The brothers and sisters of the New England FOOLS, Southern New England FOOLS and the Central Mass FOOLS really put together a phenomenal convention full of great training, captivating guest speakers and great times. Again thank you Rusty Ricker, Adam Bean, Rob Cembor and your members for all of your hard work.

For those who may not know, next year’s convention will be in September in Orlando, Florida, so mark your calendars and set your budgets because it will be something to take in. Hommteam FOOLS, Treasure Coast FOOLS and Central Florida FOOLS are already working hard to make sure next year’s convention is a memorable one.

There were many items of discussion during the convention President’s Breakfast and I’d like to share some of the highlights. First and foremost, it was said that you, the membership, wanted to hear from us more and we were listening. From now on, we will send out a monthly executive board report. In the past, I was the only one to put out a report – quarterly — but we found that was not frequent enough; we can do more. I hope you’ll find that what we report is informative and assists each chapter in some way.

Chapters and Membership

Many of you said that keeping some of your members engaged was difficult at times. This is an ongoing problem with any organization, and there is no single solution that will work for every chapter. However, there have been a number of success stories and we hope to combine some of them and share these ideas and guidance with you in the near future.

One of the main tenets of this organization is brotherhood. Turning to your fellow chapters for advice and assistance is not only beneficial to your chapter, but to the organization as a whole and promotes that brotherhood. When a new chapter is established, we encourage members from nearby chapters to attend the first meeting – to introduce themselves to the new members and serve as “mentors” to that chapter to help them move forward. Some chapters have been getting together within the state they live to bounce ideas off of each other to keep things fresh. Other chapters have even crossed state lines to aid each other in training and membership. These are things that need to continue and expand. To those chapters who have been actively engaged in doing this — thank you for leading the way and setting the example for others.

A very important issue we need to address is that all chapters must file for 501(c)3 status individually. Each chapter must use an accountant to get this done; having an accountant is a good way to make sure that every detail is taken care of for your chapter. Everyone needs to do this to make sure we are going in the right direction and are all on the same page, legally. It is for the good of every chapter and the entire FOOLS organization. One important step in this is to make sure your rosters are up to date and that Ben Sheppard, the International Membership Trustee, has that roster so the International’s rosters are up to date and match each chapter.

Website

All of you should be aware of our website: http://www.foolsinternational.com/. We use the website to provide you with information and you should check it often. What you may not be aware of is that we also have a Facebook fan page as well as a Twitter account. Between these three means of communication, there should be no reason why anyone should be left out of the “loop.” We ask that every chapter e-board look over the website and Facebook page before your board meetings so that any and all updates with the organization are known and passed on. The Twitter account is: @fools_intl if you’d like to follow us there.

Some of the chapters still don’t have websites and this can be a problem. It is not difficult to do and we will have information on the International site in the future to get you started. If you have any problems, feel free to contact Andy “Sippy” Biron at sippy@foolsinternational.com.

E-Commerce

There is FOOLS merchandise on our website and chapter websites that would be great for gifts throughout the year. Check back often for new merchandise and specials to get some great deals. We also have a link on the International website to a travel site that has very competitive prices to all of the other major sites. The big benefit to using our site is that it puts money back into OUR organization, which benefits us all. I encourage you to check it out next time you’re planning to travel.

Training

We are extremely pleased to see that many of our chapters have been holding training activities. There are a few things we ask with this training which are very important. First, make sure that you have an outline and instructor list drawn up and sent to Mike Dugan, the International Training/Education Trustee. This is so we are aware of all of the FOOLS-sponsored activities taking place around the country, where they’re being held, and who is conducting the training. Next, make sure that you send Sippy any type of advertisement for the training venue so it can be placed on the International website and Facebook, and promoted on Twitter, to aid any chapter in getting the word out. After you conduct the training, please feel free to write up an article for the International website so others can see what took place and how the training went. Lastly, and most important, get an event insurance policy for your training so all participants are covered.

Insurance

Speaking of insurance, during the convention, we took a list of people who want to assist in looking into getting general liability insurance or provide some direction in regards to insurance. We will be touching base with those people soon to really put this major issue to bed. This is one of the most challenging issues we are dealing with and one that I hope we can have answers for by the end of the year.

In addition, we now offer our members in good standing Accidental Death and Dismemberment insurance as a benefit of your FOOLS membership. You should all have received a mailing on this recently. This is a legitimate policy, at no cost to you. You only need to fill out the forms and return them as soon as possible. For more information, contact Ben Sheppard at membership@foolsinternational.com.

Events, Activities, and Publicity

Many of our chapters are actively involved with one or more of the charities we endorse. If you are planning an event to support one of these charities, remember that it takes plenty of lead time — please consider putting your heads together now to get things organized. St. Baldrick’s is only seven months away and if your chapter is going to do host an event, you will need to organize it well in advance. Please let Eric Hankins, the International Vice President, know of any activities you are planning and keep him up to date. You can find a list of the charitable organizations we assist by looking on our links page. At times, any of those organizations may need our assistance to work booths with them. We ask that if they have a booth set up in your area, please put two to three members in the booth. It is the least we can do for them. And when you’re planning your event, consider contacting Sharon Willis, the International Public Info Officer, at publicinfo@foolsinternational.com, to help you with advance publicity, or when the event is over, to write a release for the local news media, our website and Facebook page. Sharon is always looking for stories to write or pitch to the media about our members and the organization, so please email her if you or any of your fellow FOOLS have anything of interest you’d like to share.

Thank you, everyone, for all of the support and encouragement over the last year. As a new executive board, and the first to take over since the founders, we have had a lot to take on and huge shoes to fill. Take into account that the whole board is scattered throughout the United States, with multiple jobs and family, and it makes it quite difficult, and at times very slow, to get things done. As members of this great organization, your support has been invaluable in making sure that the first appointed e-board has a smooth and educational transition. A special thanks to the Founders and Ellen Brown, for their work in this transition. They have been there for guidance and assistance when it was needed.

On behalf of the FOOLS International Executive Board, I say THANK YOU.

Sincerely,

Eric DePoto

The Fraternal Order of Leatherheads Society has purchased an accidental death and dismemberment insurance policy to cover all current members.  According to Membership Trustee Ben Sheppard, as of May 11, 2009, each F.O.O.L.S. member in good standing is covered under a policy that will pay up to $4,000 to the beneficiary in case of death due to a work- or non-work-related accident, or in case of a loss of bodily appendage or sight because of an accident. The policy is drawn through the American Income Life Insurance Company, recognized as one of the largest providers of supplemental insurance in the United States, Canada, and New Zealand.

“The F.O.O.L.S. is committed to ensuring safety on and off the fire ground, but we recognize that accidents can happen and we want our members to be prepared in the event they do,” Sheppard said.

All active members were recently mailed an information packet on the coverage from the insurance company.

“We want to assure everyone that this is a legitimate insurance policy and there are no out-of-pocket fees associated with it,” Sheppard said. “However, for the policy to take effect, members must fill out the beneficiary forms that were mailed and return them as soon as possible. Once they are received, the insurance company will contact each member to verify the information.” Sheppard said that additional optional coverage is also available for members who wish to increase the policy up to $10,000 at their own expense.  Sadly, the policy has already been needed. Just 18 days after the insurance coverage took effect, Southwestern New York F.O.O.L.S. member Michael Trzepacz died from injuries sustained in a motorcycle accident. Since he was covered, his family will receive the death benefit.

Members who have questions about the insurance coverage, or about their membership status, may contact Ben Sheppard at membership@foolsinternational.com.

Fools International has now become a one stop shop for travel. Fools International is now a travel agency and travel bookings can be done through our website http://www.foolsinternationaltravel.com. We hope this makes traveling to conventions and training venues easier for our members. This is competitive travel NOT discount travel. If you look at our website you will not only find flights but car rentals, cruises, hotels, sporting event tickets and much much more. We look forward to working with you in your worldly travels.

F.O.O.L.S. INTERNATIONAL Endorses ST. BALDRICK’S and HERO2HERO.US

In another giant step for the FOOLS, the International E-Board has joined forces with two great charities. St. Baldrick’s Foundation and Hero To Hero.US

Most of you have probably heard of the St. Baldrick’s Foundation since they have been doing great work for children’s cancer research for a great many years. Many FOOLS from all over the country have participated in annual head shaving events for several years.

Hero To Hero.US is another non-profit organization that provides Fire Service T-Shirts to the Men and Women serving this great country overseas as part of the United States Military. H2H organizes shirt drives and facilitates the shipping of local shirts to local soldiers abroad.

So what does this mean to you? Well we are trying to get the word out to all of our local chapters so they can participate in St. Baldrick’s events in their area. Most events are held around St. Patty’s day (another day close to our hearts) so a formal “TEAM FOOLS” is going to be tough for 2009. But we still ask for your participation. Check out the St. Baldrick’s website at www.stbaldricks.org and try to find an event near you. Once you find an event get your members signed up and start getting donations.

While everyone is meeting for the St. Baldrick’s event, we thought it would be a great opportunity to help out our other partner Hero To Hero.US. We would like each chapter to organize a shirt drive from there local area that coincides with the St. Baldrick’s event. This way, we will have the chance to help out TWO great causes at once. Once the Shirts are collected then a chapter representative can go to the HeroToHero.US website http://www.herotohero.us and Pledge. Troops are requesting shirts by regions/hometowns, so make sure you are ready when your troops ask.

The International is very excited about the direction that we are all heading and look forward to a long and positive partnership with both of these great organizations. Please make us all proud by participating.

Members,

      It’s already October, and it has been a very busy summer for most of our chapter members.  Most have been kept busy with work, volunteer time, kids, and even some lucky few have taken that well deserved break from it all, and went on a vacation.  This, as some of you have asked, is why we haven’t had a chapter membership meeting in a few months. 

      Although our chapter did not attend this year’s Fools Convention in Seattle, our chapter will be affected by what went on there.  For the first time, part of the convention was dedicated to hands-on training and by order of the Fools International Executive Board, this shall be the standard for all future conventions.  Many good things came out of this years’ convention.  The passing on of the ‘torch’ from the original Founding Fools to the new Executive Board; the mandate of hands-on training at future conventions; the establishment of a Health and Wellness component to our philosophy; the establishment of guidelines for local chapters, like ours, to become non-profit organizations; the re-establishment of friendships and the networking of new friends during that week.  The International has added a new position to our organization.  Captain Mike Dugan, L123 FDNY, has taken on the task of overseeing the Fools training program.  Mike will be responsible for all HOT training as well as the training content on the International’s web site.  This is a great addition to the International, and we look forward to working with Mike in the future.

      One item that will directly affect our chapter is the establishment of annual dues to be collected from each chapter paid to the International.  This idea has been in the works for almost two years to help offset the International’s operational costs.  The International was not being supported enough by the one-time membership fees of $10 per person for new applicants.  We will be paying these yearly dues to the International no later than January 1st of each year starting in 2009. 

      That brings me to my next topic.  Dues.  As all of you know, our chapter’s membership dues are only $20 per year and are due every April 1st.  We currently have approximately 100 members listed in our records, but only have 30 members who are up to date.  Some members, despite the April 1st deadline, finally paid their dues as late as last month.  I understand the hard economic times that our country is in, and I don’t know each member’s financial status.  If you are unable to pay your dues on time, that’s fine; contact me and let me know.  I keep everything, to that nature, 100% private.  We can work through your issue.  On that note, I have no choice but to drop those members who haven’t paid this year’s dues.  If you are dropped, you will still retain your status with Fools International, and will have the option to re-join at any time with a new application.  By doing this, we keep our chapter full of those firefighters who remain dedicated to what Fools stands for.  It will also determine how much our chapter has to pay to the International because the amount we owe is based on how many active members our chapter has.  Please pay your dues on time each year.  The money we collect from dues, and chapter events throughout the year, go directly back to you by offsetting money for training, trips, meetings, and our involvement with upcoming conventions.  The web site will be updated soon with a page dedicated to a list of current, active members.  Once published, please feel free to contact me if your name is not on the list.

      Meetings this year have been few and far between.  With everyone’s busy schedules it is very hard to hold meetings on days where everyone can attend.  I do remember, however, that we would pack the back room at O’Meara’s full when we first started.  I’m not sure if some of you lost interest, were upset that we don’t go to O’Meara’s anymore, or just don’t check your emails or the website.  The few meetings that we have held recently have only yielded between 3 and 7 people at the most.  Even the announcement of free beer at meetings didn’t bring anyone out.  We have tried to move meetings around within the different jurisdictions to make sure meetings were being held at various locations so more folks could attend.  The membership voted to do that.  The very first meeting after that only the usual crowd of members, mostly the EBoard, showed up.  All we ask from each member is that you attend at least a few meetings a year so we can keep things up and running.  If you are not at the meetings, then you miss out on your say in how we operate, where we spend our money, and more importantly how and when we conduct our training.  Please feel free to email me with any ideas you have to help make our meetings more convenient for you, the membership, to attend.  Please make every effort to attend the next few meetings.  We need to continue to show our pride at our meetings by bringing our lids.  We will be discussing how to make our chapter better, and how we can start being more involved within the International.  The website gets updated with meeting times and location.

      It was unfortunate that we had to cancel our Engine and Truck Company Operations training weekend back in April.  Due to an asbestos issue at the facility, we had no choice but to cancel by orders of the facility’s manager.  The facility is back open for us to use with a list of a few areas that are still off-limits.  The Brotherhood Bash that was held at Mackey’s Pub in Manassas went well despite the cancelling of the training.  A good time was had by all, including a lot of new faces.  Since then, however, there doesn’t seem to be much interest in chapter happenings lately.  We have made the decision to cancel our annual Saving Our Own training weekend due to lack of interest.  Last year we had an overwhelming showing of over forty firefighters from all over attend.  As I write this letter, only four people have signed up.  The members of your EBoard have made the decision to cut our losses and cancel yet another great opportunity to get together and train.  I would like to thank Brothers Kevin Franzello, Tony Carroll, John Bryant, Jared Goff, and Jeremy Pope for all of their ongoing hard work and dedication to our chapter’s training.  Again, if we as a chapter can do things differently, or hold better training, please let us know.  We have had members in the past raise their hands and volunteer for committees, but to be honest, I can’t seem to remember any of their names anymore.  Our chapter’s training is held for its members.  Some seem to think that we host training events to raise money and see how many out-of-area departments we can get to attend.  These training events, no matter how big or how small, are here for you; the membership.  Please try to get more involved with the training aspect of our chapter as well.  I recently talked with our International’s new President, firefighter Eric DePoto from Charlotte, North Carolina.  He is going to be in our area and was going to pay us a visit during our Saving Our Own weekend.  I had to contact him and let him know that it was cancelled.  He just recently returned from training out in Wichita where the Fools of OZ, Wheat State Fools, and the Mid-America Fools put on a two day event where there were over 300 participants.  I guess I’m a little disappointed that we only have 4 people interested in our two day event.

      We will be hosting another firefighter auction sometime this spring.  The committee decided that due to the hard economic times, holidays, and the potential for inclimate weather, that we will no longer hold the auction during the winter months.  Hopefully we will be able to raise some more money for the DC Firefighter Burn Foundation by moving it to April or May.  Please keep an eye out for more information on our web site.  Brother Dan Keyes has been working hard on this year’s auction and has even gone as far as creating a dedicated web site for our auction.  Thank you Brother Keyes for doing this; as well as your company’s donation to keep the site up and running.  If anyone is interested in helping with our upcoming firefighter auction, please contact Brother Dan Keyes.

     Well, we will be re-organizing our chapter over the next few months to hopefully give our great organization a new jump start into the New Year.  I have been in touch with the Central Maryland Fools recently who have expressed interest in working with each other when it comes to hosting upcoming training and events.  It is also my goal, as your chapter president, to see to it that we become much more involved with the International.  This includes sending a delegation of members to Maine to attend the 2009 Fools International Convention, to be hosted by our brothers from New England.  We will try to see what the chapter can pay for to minimize the cost to our members. 

     Please remember that we are here for each other, as well as to continue the traditions of the fire service through brotherhood and training.  Remember why you joined Fools?  If anyone has any questions, comments, or concerns, please feel free to contact me.  Stay safe.

Fraternally,

Keith Bresnahan

President

Northern Virginia Fools

FTM-PTB-RFB

Brothers & Sisters,

Here we are on the back half of the year and what a year it’s been. Many events have occurred and in 2009 the direction of the FOOLS is going to be moving like a freight train. This cannot be done without the support of each and every chapter. Your involvement in the many different areas is crucial to our organization going to the next level.

The foundation of the FOOLS has been set and now is the time to build on that. During the 2007 FOOLS Convention in Seaside Heights New Jersey, the general membership voted on an annual chapter dues, paid to FOOLS International and that a committee was formed to put together a dollar amount that each chapter would be responsible to pay every year. The committee (comprised of Richie Stack- Southside FOOLS, Eric Hankins- NorCal FOOLS, Bill Hopson- Jersey FOOLS, Jeremy Brown- Indy Metro FOOLS and Dana Potter- Southern New England FOOLS) drew up an amount based off of an individual chapter’s membership. They brought forth the plan; it was approved by the FOOLS International Executive Board and put into the International’s Articles of Association. The breakdown is as follows:

1-50 members = $50 per year
51-100 members = $100 per year
101-200 members = $200 per year
201 members + = $300 per year max

The annual chapter dues will be due starting January 1, 2009. This being the first year, we are allowing chapters a grace period till April 1, 2009 to be paid in full, but we strongly urge everyone to have their chapter dues paid in full as early as possible in 2009. It is in your best interest to have an accurate roster of your chapter so dues paid to FOOLS International will be accurate and match the roster that FOOLS International has on each chapter. Chapter rosters that FOOLS International has can be obtained upon request either from Ellen Brown – Secretary or Ben Sheppard – Membership. I would encourage every chapter to obtain a copy of the roster we have of your chapter and compare it to the roster each chapter has on itself. This money will help support FOOLS International as well as chapters for certain events (i.e., conventions and training). Again proper planning for this is very important and we know that every chapter is on board. If you have any questions feel free to get a hold of Ellen Brown via email or phone (ellenb@foolsinternational.com or admin@foolsinternational.com, 423-479-3111).

Thank you for everyone’s participation and involvement.

The FOOLS International Executive Board:

Eric C. DePoto, President
Eric Hankins, Vice-President
Ellen Brown, Secretary/Treasurer
Ben Sheppard, 1^st Trustee, Membership
Lee Hudson, 2^nd Trustee, Merchandise
Andy Biron, 3^rd Trustee, Internet Operations
Mike Dugan, 4^th Trustee, Education

Come Join us and your brother Fools from all over the country at the Firehouse Expo!

Meet us at Hooters Inner Harbor in Baltimore, Maryland on Thursday July 24th at 1pm!

This is a family event so bring them along, as well as your brother firefighters from your station/department.

FREE BEER for those members who wear our Chapter’s Official TShirt!!!

(No tshirt yet?  Bring $20, buy a shirt, then drink for FREE)

Look for our Chapter’s Banner on the outside railing ’cause that’s where all of the Fool’ish fun will be!