Page 38 - InCommand Volume 30

Candidates for Director-at-Large
Chief Joe Kitchen, OFC Bath Township Fire Department
Dear Nominations & Elections Committee Members,
I am pleased to have the opportunity to submit my name for nomination for the Director at Large position on the Board of Directors of the Ohio Fire Chiefs’ Association.
As my attached resume reflects, I have over twenty nine years of experience in the fire service in the State of Ohio, and have served in multiple and various roles during my career.
I have been an active member of the Ohio Fire Chiefs’ Association since 2002. I have had the honor and privilege
of serving on the Board of Directors in one of the At Large Director positions for several years. I was appointed to fill
an unexpired term in 2016 and was then elected to a three
year term in 2017. I have previously served on the Ohio Fire and Emergency Services Foundation Board. I am the OFCA County Champion for Allen County, and I am a member of the “Health and Safety Committee” and Chair of the “Membership Committee.” Additionally, I am a member of the OFCA Marketing sub-committee. I also serve as the Allen County Coordinator for the Ohio Fire Chiefs Emergency Response Plan. Recently, I was appointed to represent the OFCA on the Governor’s School Safety Work Group.
As an OFCA Board member I have never missed a meeting or conference. I have hosted two OFCA Legislative Roundtables and recently hosted a Fire Officer I class at my station. I believe that I have been fully engaged as a Board member and it is my desire to continue to serve. I strongly support the mission of the OFCA and will strive to do all I can to continue to make our associate the Premier, Proactive, and Professional organization that it is.
Finally, I believe that I bring a passion for the fire service, a dedication to leadership, and a positive attitude. I am confident that I will continue to represent our organization well and bring new energy and ideas to the association.
Respectfully,
Joseph L. Kitchen, OFC
Chief Kevin D. Hardwick OFE, OFC Village of Glendale Fire Department
I would like to offer my name for consideration for the At-Large Director position with the Board of Directors.
I am interested in taking this position to help lead Ohio’s fire service into the next level of the vocation. This job is hazardous every day and we must continue to mitigate the risks as much as possible. We have to guide the elected officials of the State to providing support where it is needed. PTSD and cancer issues are two of the top topics that departments are struggling with right now. Budgets continue to be a challenge moving forward.
Simply getting people into the position of firefighter has been a challenge. My department has been going against the norm as we have maintained a constant group of people and constantly have people applying for the position. We use different tactics to get them to be a part of the fire department.
I organized the Ohio FACE(Firefighters Against the Cancer Epidemic) Team to help address the cancer concerns of firefighters. We have based our charter on what the Florida
team had done before with great success. We must push for protection of our people by awareness, training, research, policy development and resource availability. We partnered with Cancer Centers in Ohio and have secured some testing at no cost to the departments for cancer. Currently there are no standards saying what is the best way to manage the issues, but they are in development now. We can be a part of the groups leading that change.
I want to be a part of the Ohio Fire Chiefs Association leadership team. I can bring another point of view based on my experience. I hold the Association in high regard and will continue the tradition of great leaders.
Thank you for the opportunity. Chief Kevin D. Hardwick OFE/OFC
To view the resumes and biographies of the candidates running for office, please visit the “Elections” page under the “Members Only” section of the Ohio Fire Chiefs’ Association website at www.ohiofirechiefs.org.
38 InCommand APRIL/MAY/JUNE 2020 • www.ohiofirechiefs.org