Letter From The President
Hello again, I hope all of you doing well and enjoying
the summer.
On the Conference Front
I am happy to announce that our annual NIAFPD Conference has moved to the Westin
Hotel in Lombard for 2012. The date for the conference will be Thursday,
February 9 to Sunday February 12, 2012. We have had great success at the Double
Tree in Oak Brook but the committee felt it was time to move on to a new
location. I think you will find the Westin a great place for our conference. We
will send you more information about the conference in the near future.
On the Legislative Front
Chuck Vaughn has been very busy down in Springfield this Spring. Please take the
time to review his report so you can stay on top of any issues that might affect
all of us. If you can think of any legislation that might help the fire service
please let Chuck or Kathy Haage know.
I would like to extend my congratulations to a few of our members on their
upcoming retirements. First, I would like to thank Chief Dan Hermes of the
Pleasantview Fire Protection District. Chief Hermes is retiring July 8th after
33 years of service to his community and to the NIAFPD. Chief Hermes has work on
the conference committee of the NIAFPD since the very first conference. Dan was
also a delegate on our Russian training program. He has spoken at numerous state
and NIAFPD conferences and has been a great friend of the NIAFPD. I wish Dan and
his wife Kathy nothing but the best and I would like to say thanks for
everything you have done for the fire service.
I would also like to congratulate Chief Jim Quinn of the Deerfield-Bannockburn
Fire Protection District on his upcoming retirement in September. Chief Quinn
has been a great supporter of the NIAFPD since day one. Chief Quinn has put in
many years on the conference committee and was also a delegate in the Russian
program. The Russians were so impressed with the fire safety house in Deerfield
they built one in Moscow and had the grand opening on our second visit. I have
nothing but the utmost respect for him as a Chief and as a leader in the fire
service. On behalf of the NIAFPD, I would like to thank you for your long years
of dedicated service.
Lastly I would like to let you know that our Executive Directors Kathy Haage
plans on retiring from the Deerfield-Bannockburn Fire Protection District in
September of this year. She was also a delegate on the Russian training program.
Along with serving as our Executive Director, she has served as the
Administrative Assistant for the Deerfield-Bannockburn Fire Protection District
for over 20 years. I am happy to say that Kathy does plan to stay on as our
Executive Director and will work for us out of her home. Kathy has done a great
job, but more importantly she has made such an impact on the fire service. I
would like to say thank you and good luck in your retirement.
As always if you should have any questions about the NIAFPD or maybe you would
like to author an article for the Fire Guard, please don’t hesitate to call
Kathy Haage, or myself. Thank you for checking out our website www.niafpd.org.
Ronald P. Kubicki
President, Northern Illinois Alliance of Fire Protection Districts