Thoughts from the Treasurer
It’s now April, and I’m sure we all are tired of this long cold winter and more than ready for some spring like weather. It seems that no part of the state has gotten a break and with all the snow we will be concerned about flooding. Never a dull moment in South Dakota.
I’ll make another pitch for someone to step up and consider helping your state firefighters association with either the treasurer or secretary jobs. If you are a person who pays the bills, does payroll or some other basic bookkeeping for a business then you would be perfect for the treasurer’s position. I pay a few bills each month, and then when fire school comes around reimburse the instructors and others. It takes about 10 hours a month to do this portion and we use Quicken Deluxe for record keeping. Please if you know someone or maybe you are that someone, let me know. I’ll be happy to visit with you more.
The secretary position is a little more involved. It does require someone who has more time available. Maybe a recently retired person, someone who is looking to work from home, someone who needs or wants to fill a few hours each week when the kids are at school, or maybe someone who has a true desire to help the fire service of South Dakota. If that person is you, let me know.
Fire school planning is moving along at a fast pace. The Board held an on-line meeting to go over the plans. We were going to meet in Watertown, but once again, Mother Nature seemed to have other ideas. Hopefully registration will be open when you read this article or will be very soon. So, check our website, watch your emails and our Facebook page for the latest info.
This will be the last reminder about a departments 2023 membership dues. There are still a few departments who haven’t paid this year. It seems odd they haven’t because those few have been paid members in previous years. With fire school registration opening there are significant discounts to your firefighters who attend fire school. If you are not sure if your department is paid or not, just contact me and I can check in a hurry.
The legislative session is complete. House Bill 1127 was brought forth by State Representative Kevin Jensen and Senator Herman Otten. It provided funding in the amount of $5 million dollars for the purchase of firefighter PPE. The funds have to be spent within four years and will be administered by the SD Firefighters Assn. We are in the process of working out how this program will be handled. The support we received from the legislators was evident in their remarks and voting. It is a very positive thing for the fire service. If you have some thoughts or ideas on how this should work, please let anyone of the Board know.
One last item. In this month’s paper and in the next couple of months will be the revised and updated By-Laws of the SD Firefighters Assn. If you remember we updated the Constitution last year and now we have finished the By-laws. This requires a vote of the general membership to adopt them. They are in the paper so take a read on them, voting will be at fire school in June.
I have rambled long enough for this month. So, remember to slow down, if you don’t get to the fire hall, or to the incident, you won’t be of much help.
Denny Gorton,
SDFA Treasurer