MSFA Weekly Report for County Associations and Partners
PDF: MSFA Weekly Report week ending 9.23.22
SAFER Grant Contractor Job Announcements: There are two immediate contractor
positions now available through the MSFA SAFER grant. The job announcements are
attached to this report.
–Northern Maryland Regional Recruitment and Retention Coordinator for Kent, Harford,
Cecil, Baltimore Carroll counties
–Social Media/Community–Focused Marketing Manager
MSFA Name Change: President Kurtz will be scheduling regional open forums
over the next few months at locations TBD to address the name change and allow
members to voice their opinions and concerns. County association leadership and
voting delegates that attend the convention in Ocean City are strongly urged to
attend. More information to follow.
–The name change survey has been disseminated by Taskforce Chair Teresa Crisman and
will be available until October 15th. It asks several questions regarding the proposed name
changes and why the proposals failed. We ask that those who receive the survey to reply
in a timely manner as we continue discussions on how we move forward into 2023. The
Taskforce is working diligently to collect the survey data and the feedback generated by
the membership.
–To be clear, and taking into account the sensitivity and importance of this initiative, it is
important to allow the taskforce to complete its work. President Kurtz asks that member
Departments and Associations be patient with the process and not create negativity
around what should be a positive endeavor.
–As a reminder, President Kurtz has asked that NO NAME CHANGE PROPOSALS
BE SUBMITTED until after January 1, 2023.
MSFA Mentorship Program Rollout: The MSFA Recruitment and Retention
Committee and all County Recruitment and Retention Coordinators will be invited to
attend Phase One of the rollout of the newly–created statewide, SAFER–funded
Mentorship Program. This training will be held at MFRI College Park on Saturday,
November 5th from 10am–2pm. Invitations to attend will be sent via email this coming
Monday. Once this phase of the training is complete, the MSFA SAFER Regional
Coordinators, R and R committee, and county recruiters will begin scheduling local
training in their designated regions. We hope to complete a full roll–out to all departments
by June 2023.
Reminder: The 2022 Federation of Fire Chaplain’s Conference application is
available for those who wish to attend. It will be held October 15–20 in Atlanta, Georgia.
Through SAFER grant funding, the MSFA and MFCA can reimburse up to five attendees
each and there are a few slots available at this time. Please reach out to Chief Chaplain
John Long at pray@msfa.org for an application.
Mental Health Training: If your department would like to host a mental health
awareness presentation, please reach out to Teresa Crisman at tacrisman@hotmail.com
or PP Dave Lewis at dlewis533@comcast.net for content that is appropriate for your
members.
988: Please be aware and spread the word regarding the recent launch of the Maryland
Department of Health National Suicide & Crisis Lifeline; 988. For more information
visit: https://health.maryland.gov/newsroom/Pages/Maryland–Department–of–Health–launches–
988,–the–new–National–Suicide–&–Crisis–Lifeline.aspx
MSFA Committee Notices/Reminders:
The Cancer Committee has announced its 2023 Walk of Hope in Annapolis which will be
held on Sunday, April 23, 2023. They hope to have an excellent turn out again next
spring!
The Ways and Means Committee reminds all departments that the 2023 Convention
$10,000 Raffle tickets have been distributed to all Executive Committee members. Please
be sure to contact them to get your tickets!
If any Committee wishes to share information via this weekly report includiing meeting
dates and times, please submit it to Executive Director Kate Loveless at
KLoveless@msfa.org by the Wednesday of each week for Friday distribution. If you are
interested in being on an MSFA committee, please visit the MSFA website and submit
the following interest form: https://www.msfa.org/committees/interest–form/
If your department has an upcoming event, please post the information to the MSFA
Information Sharing page on Facebook. The page grows each week and it is a useful tool
to help advertise your events. You can also share important information and milestones
on the MSFA website by submitting an announcement form online at
https://www.msfa.org/about/news/announcements/submit–announcement/
If you have any questions, please reach out to your county Executive Committee members:
Allegany/Garrett; Tim Dayton daytontd22@gmail.com
Anne Arundel; Ron Block blockntackle@comcast.net
Baltimore; Doug Simpkins, Jr. dougsimpkins350@gmail.com
Calvert/Charles/St. Mary’s; Randy Smith firehouseblues56@yahoo.com
Carroll/Howard; Theresa Collins collins3187@gmail.com
Dorchester/Talbot; Bob Phillips rfcchief48@gmail.com
Frederick/Washington; Chip Jewell cjecc171@comcast.net
Harford/Cecil; PP Steve Cox msfa96@gmail.com
Montgomery; Buddy Sutton b.sutton@ldvfd.org
Prince George’s; Lee Lutz leelutz49@gmail.com
Queen Anne’s/Kent/Caroline; Robbie Blackiston t.r.blackiston@gmail.com
Somerset/Wicomico/Worchester; PP Roger Steger rsteger21842@gmail.com
Upcoming Executive Committee meetings:
December 3–4, 2022 Showell VFC
February 11–12, 2023 Prince Frederick VFD
April 1–2, 2023 Flintstone VFD
Meetings will start at 9am on Saturday and Sunday and all are encouraged to attend
