Page 4 - InCommand Volume 30

Chief Jonathan Westendorf, MPA, OFC
OFCA President
Research is providing new insight and understanding to the role nutrition has on the overall health and well- being of our firefighters and paramedics.
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A Message from the OFCA’s President
How often have you heard that the fire service is comprised of hundreds of years of tradition unimpeded by progress? This often-recited adage may have been true until the formation and standardization of volunteer fire brigades, such as Ben Franklin
and the Union Fire Company, but I doubt it. Change may be slow and perhaps, at times, uncomfortable. However, the capabilities and technology of today’s emergency service systems bear little resemblance to the advent of America’s modern fire service.
Ohio has a rich tradition of leading innovations that have significantly transformed the fire service industry for the rest of the nation. After all, Cincinnati formed the nation’s first fully paid fire department in 1853, and the Ahrens-Fox Fire Engine Company produced the first motorized fire engine in 1911, causing the production of horse-drawn fire apparatus to cease the following year. The legacy of Ohio has been, and I argue will be, a tradition of innovation and progress.
Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything. - George Bernard Shaw
Change is in the air. The OFCA is your premier training, professional networking, and proactive advocacy partner. Innovative technologies, new questions, and familiar threats await us all, each with greater implications and consequences than ever before. In order to fulfill our promise, we must take the next step along our collective journey.
Within the following pages, you will find detailed information related to three constitutional amendments that have been placed before you for full consideration. These proposals represent a collective work product by each of your Board of Directors, along with the counsel of Past Presidents and several key stakeholders of this Association. Hopefully, you have already had the opportunity to learn about these recommendations in person as part of our district meeting outreach effort. If not, I encourage you to attend an upcoming information session, or call any of the board members, so that we can provide any information you many need to make a wise decision. Our goal is to confidently carry this organization forward into this new decade, both ready and able to face whatever our future holds, together.
This quarter’s issue offers a perfect example of the changing face of workforce preparation and recovery. Research is providing new insight and understanding to the role nutrition has on the overall health and well-being of our firefighters and paramedics. While we have long spoke about the need to balance the roles of work, home, and friends, greater insight and understanding, as to the importance of these issues, are becoming known. Creating environments that enhance such investments offer the possibility of better fulfilling our responsibility our membership and communities with a workforce that is healthy and better prepared to protect our community.
If we are to serve you (our membership) well, we need your direct input and participation. Many of you have invested much more time and energy into this Association than ever before. I am thankful for the confidence you have displayed
by taking that step-in faith for us. The issues facing our organization are growing in complexity and a great deal of work remains. We are a diverse state with many needs.
I encourage you to become involved, perhaps as simply as joining a Conference Committee Zoom meeting. Or better yet, make plans now to join us in Columbus for our 2020 Annual Conference on July 16-20 at Easton to learn much more, meet new friends, and build trusted relationships that will last well beyond retirement, so that the fire service will always remain part of who you are.
4 InCommand APRIL/MAY/JUNE 2020 • www.ohiofirechiefs.org