Opening for vice-president
Ready or Not…
March in South Dakota.
Warming temperatures.
Calves, lambs and little critters. Soft roads and mud. High School State tournaments. And at least one more nasty blizzard. It’s the life we live.
If you follow the old adage of, precipitation 90 days after fog, get out your galoshes, 5-bucklers, or hip waders, because, ready or not, it could be a soggy spring.
I would like to extend our sincerest sympathies to our fellow law enforcement service agencies and the families of Moody County Chief Deputy Ken Prorok, and, Union County Sheriff Dan Limoges.
As Ron Hines mentioned last month, the SDFA Vice-President position will be up for election this summer. Ron has announced he will not be running for re-election. If you are interested in the position, check out the board description on the SDFA website or contact a board member.
An election notice is included in the paper and SDFA website.
The term for Vice-President is a 3-year commitment. Nominations and letters of intent to run must be submitted to the nomination committee no later than May 1, 2024.
Nomination committee members include an appointed chair, two SDFA Board members and two at-large appointments from the membership. Denny Gorton, North Haines VFD, will serve as chair; Mark Stoks, Aberdeen Rural VFD; Chad Baumgarten, Lemmon VFD; Kevin Schuelke, Milbank VFD; and Glenn Sealy, Colome VFD.
Legislative issues that were of interest to many of you this session included SB114 presumptive cancer bill; and SB194 retired firefighter license plate bill. Session was still going at the time of my article.
The presumptive cancer bill will likely be put on hold to allow for a procedural process with the workers compensation advisory board. Which, actually, will allow all parties involved to have constructive conversations and negotiations in a less hurried timeframe that may find a viable option.
The retired firefighter license plate bill has been receiving positive review. If passed, it would not take effect until March 2025 to fit in with a current cycle of adjustment with licensing. More to come on both of those items.
And, congratulations to LeRoy Koopman for being recognized and honored in the State Senate with a commemorative bill for his receiving the NVFC 2023 National Lifetime Achievement Award.
Our SDFA Winter Board meeting was postponed until Feb. 17-18. I will have more on those discussions in the April issue.
We will have the State Fire School course list out soon. Keep checking the SDFA website and social media for updates.
The SDFA, Auxiliary, and Dear Old Timers post-secondary school scholarship application is available on the SDFA website. Applications are due 15 March.
The Irish heritage is strong in the fire service.
I end with my annual Irish and St. Patrick’s Day spirit, I know we have plenty of Fir Na Tine and Fir bhean (Men of Fire and Lady of Fire) keeping our State fire services strong.
Be Safe,
Charlie Kludt,
SDFA President