Day 7:Last day of FDIC. I’m almost too tired to even remember what happened today. There were some sleepy zombies walking our checking out the final hours of the trade show, shopping for their significant others and just chilling.
Jodi and I did some last minute clothes shopping and tried to ditch Brady (Red Deer Cty) before we snuck into Victoria's Secret. It’s amazing how interested guys are in the shopping experience when you say you’re going to that store.
Tammy and Ed (150 Mile House) did some last minute trade show hopping. Tammy was thrilled to have received some free fire resistant underwear and top…..though I’m not sure that I’d come out of a burning building and go “damn, sure glad I had that fire retardant underwear on!”.
T-shirts a plenty were purchased as you know that firefighters just can’t get enough of those navy blue t-shirts. The rest of the day was spent packing and having a few meetings and saying goodbye to Total Fire Group.
The whole gang met at 5:30pm to wrap up the trip. Steve (Morinville) presented a fantastic slide show presentation of the trip….there were 2 versions (you can imagine the difference in the pictures!). We were honored to have 2 fire chiefs from Provident Insurance come and speak to us about the work they do. It generated significant discussion on how departments need to work together to ensure that all firefighters and their families are protected.
After the meeting a bunch of the guys took in the NBA game. Brad and Steve from Morinville decked themselves out in….well….just check out the picture, it speaks for itself. The rest of us went for a great meal and then went to bed for our fabulous sleep of 4 hours before heading to the airport.
4 AM came really early and the plane ride home was uneventful. Considering that Chad got bumped to first class, he actually spent the least time in it. It was sort of like musical chairs. Danny (Ten Mile) looked like a bug squeezed in beside Ed (150 Mile House) and Brady (Red Deer County) was grateful to be given the exit row.
It was wonderful to hear the feedback of the ffs about the trip. Jodi and I have been watching as friendships have been formed, ff stories shared and future possibilities for the fire service envisioned.
We realize at The Fire Within that “together as one” has been exemplified in the past 7 days and the firefighters who have represented their departments on this trip have done so with commitment, passion and respect. Many of the ffs said they wouldn’t miss this trip next year and to sign them up!
The common thread shared among us all is a greater awareness of The Fire Within and what we are trying to achieve. The calendars are our vehicle to Train, Educate and Equip and this was met in spades at FDIC. We were honored to hear the The Fire Within has been heard about as far east as Nova Scotia and as south as Pennsylvania.
We thank everyone who has worked to increase awareness in their communities and to the firefighters who have embraced our vision. We hope to see you all again next year. We can’t wait to see what the future holds!
No comments:
Post a Comment