Volunteers lauded at February dinner in Blawenburg.
On Feb. 21, the Hopewell Fire Department (HFD) and Emergency Medical Unit (EMU) held their annual dinner dance at the Elks Club in Blawenburg.
Honored at the dinner were the following:
Firefighter of the Year 2003 The firefighter of the year award was presented to John Novak Jr., who joined the department as a cadet in 1995 at 15, thereby following in his father’s footsteps. His father is an ex-chief. Said a spokesman: "Not only is John a firefighter, but he also can drive the fire trucks and ambulances when needed. John would not hesitate to help a fellow volunteer in need. John also was number three on the top-10 responder list for 2003."
First-aider of the Year 2003 The first-aider of the year award was presented to Norm Fiel. He originally joined the department fire police in 2000. After responding with the fire police for a few years, it came to his attention that the EMS needed ambulance drivers. He started ambulance-driver training in 2003 and became a qualified driver. Since he is retired, he has become the main driver for all day calls and is also the driver with Sunday night crew. A spokesman said: "The word ‘no’ is not in Norm’s vocabulary. If a driver cannot his/her their duty night Norm is happy to fill in. Norm also received the Lions Club Volunteer of the Year award for 2003 and he was number two on the top-10 responder list for 2003."
Volunteer of the Year Award This year the department decided to add this award to honor people who are not EMTs or firefighters, but should be recognized for all the time and effort they have given to the department. The department presented two awards to Melissa Simmons and David Bregenzer Jr.
Ms. Simmons joined the department in 1993 as a firefighter. Shortly after becoming a firefighter, she decided to become the department secretary and has been ever since. "Not only does she take care of all her administrative duties, such as ordering supplies and taking minutes at monthly meetings, but she also takes care of ordering the dinner we have after the meeting. Even though Melissa is not an active fire fighter anymore she is very valuable to us as the secretary and we wouldn’t be as organized without her," said a spokesman.
Mr. Bregenzer joined the department in 1970 as a firefighter. He then decided to become the department treasurer around 1986 and still is. "Dave has many duties as treasurer such as taking care of the bank account and paying the bills. Dave is an asset to us and we often tell him that he has this job for life," said a spokesman.
Life Members The life member award is given to those people who have been active in the department for 25 plus years. They are people the department wants recognize for their continued years of service. This year’s awards went to Roselia Lake, Barry Davison, Eric Muentener, Larry Omland and Tim Fenton.