Maine State Federation of Firefighters

Latest Meeting Minutes

Call to Order: President Cyr called the meeting to order at 8:05 a.m. Roll: 22 present, 1 absent, 1 excused and 2 guests.

Pledge of Allegiance: The board recited the Pledge of Allegiance and observed a moment of silence for all fallen fire fighters.

New VP: Richard Cyr introduced Ann Marie Leona, the new VP for Somerset County.

Guest presentation: Reverend Dan Coffin, chaplain of the Phippsburg Fire Department and Maine State Coordinator of the Local Assistance State Team (LAST), of the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation explained the LAST program to the board.

Motion: Duly made and seconded to approve the minutes of the March 17, 2007 meeting. Motion carried.

Committee Reports:

Bylaws Committee: Mark Gay reported no issues. The board would deal with a proposed amendment later in the meeting.

Fire Prevention & Education Committee: Ken Desmond reported on the annual burn conference scheduled for October in Bar Harbor.

Fire Training & Education Committee: Ken Desmond reported that he attended the recent advisory committee meeting. He discussed the many recent changes at Maine FT&E.

Convention Committee: Joe Guyotte and Alex McPhedran have both met with the Winslow convention committee and this year's convention is on track. Alex said that the Boothbay committee is attending the Winslow committee's meetings in preparation for 2008.

Muster Committee: Art Quint said that at the York convention several teams had borrowed more members than authorized under the rules. One of the teams with too many borrowed members won. After a lengthy discussion board members agreed to award plaques this year. In the future, to avoid this problem, all vice presidents must attend at least the captains' meeting before the muster. VPs who miss the meeting may not claim Sunday's breakfast on their expense accounts.

Historian Committee: Horace Benner and Richard Libby reported that they had removed 26 boxes of Federation records from Hose 5 in Bangor. Richard said he had destroyed all of the old business records predating the year 2000. The Federation has decided to leave the pictures on the walls at Hose 5. The Federation can store the rest of the material at an MMA storage facility.

Yearbook Committee: Mark Gay and Jeff Maker said they have not yet heard or received much from Mark Pierce.

Finance & Auditing Committee: George Cyr said that the committee was concerned about membership. Other than that though all was in order.

National Volunteer Fire Council Committee: Joe Guyotte said that the next meeting will be held in Providence in the fall. He said that NVFC has an excellent package available to departments outlining the proper procedures for handling line of duty deaths. He reminded everyone that autopsies are critical when dealing with line of duty deaths.

Scholarship Committee: Jeff Maker said that he is still having a difficult time paying scholarships because of confusion and changes at SMCC.

Conservation Committee: Bob DiBona reported no issues.

Fire Commission: Jeff Maker said that the Commission had spent a lot of time at recent meetings dealing with issues generated by the changes at SMCC and Maine FT&E. He said the LOSAP bill had been one of the casualties. The Commission had not filed the legislation in this session despite its decision to do so last year. Jeff said that the Federation may have to deal with the issue on its own.

Legislative Committee: Bill Vickerson distributed a written report and discussed the developments on legislation on which the Federation had taken a position.

That concluded the committee reports.

Membership: Richard Cyr said that membership was 1739 members of as of the date of the meeting. He said that the vice presidents must do better because dues are the lifeblood of the organization.

Civic Development Group: Bill Vickerson updated the board on the CDG campaign. Although CDG had originally planned to use a local call center, CDG's has put those plans on hold for the present. CDG still prefers local call centers and hopes to establish one in Maine eventually. Jeff Maker reported that he has been receiving $1,250 every week from GDG. Jeff also reported on his trip to the Benefits Summit in Las Vegas sponsored by CDG and others. The trip was valuable because it allowed him to see what other states are doing for their fire fighters.

Line of Duty Death Benefit: The board had a discussion about the line of duty death of Peter Beebe-Lawson in Springfield. Mr. Beebe Lawson was not a member of the Federation at the time of his death. It was the sentiment of the board that the Federation should do something to honor Mr. Beebe Lawson's sacrifice and the sacrifice of any fire fighter killed in the line of duty.

Motion: Duly made and seconded that as of January 1, 2007, that the Federation pay a $500 death benefit to any Maine fire fighters killed in the line of duty without regard to membership in the Federation. Motion carried.

Bylaws: the board then discussed an amendment to bylaws to give the board authority to increase dues without amending the bylaws. The committee had recommended a similar amendment in 2006 that the delegates rejected. The reason given by those voting no was a concern that the amendment as proposed gave the board a "blank check." The board members agreed that the Bylaws Committee should propose another amendment this year containing limits on increases. Mark Gay said the committee would have a bylaw prepared in time for the annual meeting.

Richard Libby then suggested that attendance at the annual meeting might increase if the Federation offered a door prize.

Motion: Duly made and seconded that beginning in 2007 that the Federation award a free registration for the following year's convention consisting of the registration fee, hotel rooms for Friday and Saturday nights, banquet and dance tickets. Motion carried.

Richard Cyr reminded everyone about nominations for Fire Fighter of theYear.

Motion: Duly made and seconded that the Federation make a $250 contribution to the L.A.S.T. Program. Motion carried.

Motion: Duly made and seconded to award life membership the following individuals:

Peter MacDonald, Mechanic Falls Fire Department, Muriel Conway Vinalhaven Fire Department. Motion carried.

Motion: Duly made and seconded to adjourn at 12:40 p.m. Motion carried.

Next meeting September 13, 2007 in Winslow Maine.