I’d like to start off by saying thank you and I’m sorry. Thank you for your kind words and great response to the journal. The response was incredible and we are certainly humbled by it.

I’m sorry because there were a lot of errors in that first issue. I certainly didn’t want the first issue to go out with the errors that it did. I’ll take the hit on that. Hell, I even spelled editor wrong. Though I kind of like the sound of ‘edior’, maybe it’s French.

Regardless, I’ll work to see that we get that cleaned up. And we put out a slightly more cleaned up versions in the future.

It’s been a big few months for us here. We released the Journal, and recently hosted the second Art Of Firemanship Days. The amount of work that went into both the journal and the conference was simply overwhelming at times.

And in the end we were tired. Very tired. But, it felt good.

In the weeks after the journal was released we spoke with firefighters from across the country who enjoyed it, shared stories with us related to items they read and shared it with others.

That’s exactly what we hoped would happen. There is so much information out there that needs to be passed on to others. Information that is so important to being efficient and effective and there by safer while we carry out our jobs.

We can’t horde what’s been passed on to us or what we’ve picked up along the way through our own experiences. It needs to be shared.

As we approached the Art Of Firemanship Days our collective stress levels rose as we handled logistical issues and worked to get everything ready. To say that I wasn’t

worried that a few of the events or classes would come off without a hitch would be a lie.

But for the most part it went well. There were some issues and we’ve already started working to address them for next year. But because of the enormous effort that our team put forth it went well.

This year we added hands on training. Something we’d not done before for groups outside of our department and certainly not to the scale that we did. We didn’t know how it would go.

But to see the interaction between the students and the instructors and the students with other students was awesome for us to watch.

We will, in fact, work to eradicate them by working diligently to bring you content that is rich in core values and solid tactics. We’ll work hard to bring you information that is meaningful to you and your quest to master your craft.

What was even more incredible to see was them walking off the drill grounds with their ass’s dragging looking totally beat, yet talking about what they had learned.

It was a good tired.

It wouldn’t have been possible without the effort by those running supplies around, lighting fires, pumping engines, flying ladder trucks and especially our instructor cadre. It was their dedication and effort that brought it all together.

On Monday afternoon when we finished cleaning the drill grounds I was unsure if I’d drive home without falling asleep and when I got there if I would be physically able to get out of the truck. I was exhausted.

But it felt good.

Rarely in life do the things that require little or no effort deliver the feelings of accomplishment, satisfaction or pride that a little bit of blood, a few tears a whole lot of sweat and work will.

The individuals who worked their asses off during this years event, students, instructors and staff understand that.

It’s a shame that more of our brothers and sisters don’t. Sitting in the recliner, watching TV and or bitching and moaning will get you no where in this job.

I’ve often wondered if they talk about the fire service when they’re out doing the things that seem to preoccupy them while they are at the firehouse?

Unfortunately, we all know the answer to that one.

Seeing so many young faces and knowing that the vast majority of the students traveled long distances to join us certainly made us feel good about the future of the fire service.

Knowing those students made an effort to get to the conference, many on their own dime, that they worked so hard while they were here and went through a little hardship to better themselves should be comforting to us all.

As Paul Harvey said, “It is worth it.”

Be dedicated, be smart and be as safe as you can, but most importantly, do your job.

BB