East Shelby annual fire company dinner includes celebration for new fire truck

Photos by Ginny Kropf: Officers of the East Shelby Fire Company pose with their new pumper/rescue truck after their annual awards banquet Saturday night. From left are Allen Turner, treasurer; Joe Newton, vice president; Karen Bracey, secretary; Mike Fuller, president; Andy Beach, chief; Devin Taylor, 1st assistant chief; Debbie Taylor, 2nd assistant chief; Todd Ralph, 3rd assistant chief; Jeff Taylor, captain; Sharon Grimes, lieutenant; Laura Fields, fire police captain; Gordon Reigle and Alan Lonnen, trustees; and Dave Green, steward. Not shown is Ken Printup, trustee.

Carol Lonnen, left, and Gerry Zinkievich hug Dave Green after he presented them with his Steward’s Award at East Shelby Fire Company’s annual awards dinner. The ladies also received bouquets of flowers for always being ready to help the auxiliary at special events.

EAST SHELBY – East Shelby Volunteer Fire Company recognized dedicated members, and celebrated new members and the arrival of a new fire truck at their annual awards dinner Saturday night.

Master of ceremonies Dave Green, Auxiliary President Bronwyn Green and Fire Company President Mike Fuller welcomed guests and introduced special dignitaries.

The first order of business was to thank the Ladies Auxiliary for their gift of $7,000 which paid for new dining room chairs. It is customary for the auxiliary to give the fire department a gift each year, and this donation paid for about half of the chairs needed. It is a great start, Green said.

Ladies Auxiliary officers were installed by Town Justice Dawn Keppler, while Sheriff Chris Bourke installed the fire company officers.

New officers of the Ladies Auxiliary are Bronwyn Green, president; Deb Green, vice president; Sawyer Green, secretary; Carol Lonnen, treasurer; Shirley Printup, Sharlene Pratt and Elaine Newton, trustees; and Carol Lonnen, chaplain.

Administrative officers of the fire company are Mike Fuller, president; Joe Newton, vice president; Karen Bracey, secretary; Allen Turner, treasurer; Ken Printup, Norm Behrend, Gordon Reigle and Alan Lonnen, trustees; and Dave Green, steward.

Firematic officers are Andy Beach, chief; Devin Taylor, 1st assistant chief; Deb Taylor, 2nd assistant chief; Todd Ralph, 3rd assistant chief; Jeff Taylor, captain; Sharon Grimes, lieutenant; Laura Fields, fire police chief; and Sue Behrend and Mike Fuller, EMS officers.

President Mike Fuller announced the fire company has welcomed five new members. They are Megan Perkins, Jared Zinkievich, Scott Barber, Ben Shiffer and Emma MacDonald.

Members of the East Shelby Ladies Auxiliary took time out from the annual awards banquet Saturday night to pose with the new pumper/rescue truck which just arrived the end of January. From left are Bronwyn Green, president; Sawyer Green, secretary; Deb Green, vice president; Carol Lonnen, treasurer; Elaine Newton, Sharlene Pratt and Shirley Printup, trustees.

Bronwyn Green said the auxiliary has welcomed new members Lynn Woodruff and Maureen Beach.

Bob Scharlau received proclamations from town board member Jeff Smith and Assemblyman Mike Norris for 25 years in the East Shelby Volunteer Fire Company. Norris also thanked all the firefighters for their service, saying they are the lifeblood of the community. He said there are 26 fire companies in the 144th district he represents.

East Shelby Volunteer Fire Company president Mike Fuller, right, presented Gordon Reigle with a certificate for 55 years of membership in the fire company during their annual awards dinner Saturday night. Fuller also was presented a plaque from vice president Joe Newton on behalf of the town of Shelby community for Fuller’s 44 years of service as an employee of the Town of Shelby Highway Department, 14 of them as highway superintendent.

Norris also conveyed regards from Senator Rob Ortt, who was unable to attend, saying he and Ortt both continue to sponsor and support bills for the good of firefighters.

Fuller handed out certificates for years of service, from five to 55 years. These included Matt Seever amd Andy Beach, 10 years; Deb Taylor, Jackie Keller and Alan Lonnen, 15 years; Rusty Hoffmeister and Todd Ralph, 20 years; Bob Scharlau, 25 years; Ken Printup and David Allen, 30 years; Jim Ralph, Kirk Zinkievich, Rich Pitcher, Dave Morien and Ron Sanders, 35 years; and Darrell Green and Gordon Reigle, 55 years.

Fuller chose a couple as recipients of his President’s Award. Sue and Norm Behrend have demonstrated excellence and professionalism in their service as New York State educators in EMS training, Fuller said. They previously taught certified first responders, EMTs and CPR in Kendall and continue to offer the training at East Shelby.

Joe Newton made a surprise presentation to Mike Fuller for his outstanding service and commitment to the town’s residents as highway superintendent. The plaque conveyed a thank you from the community and fire department.

“I gave 110 percent in my 44 years with the town of Shelby – 14 of them as the boss,” Fuller said.

He also said his retirement now gives him more time to spend at the fire company.

Chief Andy Beach handed out two awards this year – a newly created EMS Award and his Chief’s Award.

“Several weeks ago, Sue Behrend asked me if we could give an EMS award this year,” Beach said. “We are the fire department in the county with the fewest calls, but 90 percent of them are EMS.”

The first EMS Award was presented to Dave Green.

“He is no stranger to EMS, and continues to insist every year he is too old to recertify, but he keeps doing it,” Beach said. “He recently responded to a call which resulted in the delivery of a baby. Whether it’s a fire or a house call, Dave is there, insisting he’s OK.”

East Shelby Fire Chief Andy Beach, right, congratulates Dave Green, who was recipient of the first EMS award given by the department. Green was recognized for responding to a call for a woman having a baby.

Beach said he didn’t have to think too hard to choose the recipient of his Chief’s Award.

“Out in the hall is our new truck, which required a lot of paperwork, dealing with a lot of difficulties, writing grants and negotiating with the company we bought it from,” Beach said, naming Allen Turner for the Chief’s Award.

Mike Fuller was named the Firefighter of the Year.

“With a new truck comes a lot of responsibility,” Beach said. “We combined a pumper and rescue into one truck, and everything had to be shifted from two trucks to one. I got calls every day from Mike, asking where he should put this or that. I told him he had more years of experience than I did and to just put things where he thought they should go.”

“I appreciated the opportunity to work on the new truck, now that I have the time to do it,” Fuller said.

From left, Assemblyman Mike Norris, East Shelby Volunteer Fire Company president Mike Fuller and Fire Chief Andy Beach stand next to East Shelby’s new fire pumper/rescue truck after their banquet Saturday night.

Beach named the top 10 responders in the fire department and gave them each a $10 gift card to Tim Hortons. They are Dave Green, Gordon Reigle, Nick Culver, Mike Fuller, Rusty Hoffmeister, Scott Barber, Karen Bracey, Walt Dingman, Paul Albone and Steve Wolter.

Brownyn Green presented Shirley Printup with a certificate as outgoing president.

“Shirley is super organized and made the transition an easy one for me,” Green said.

Two 10-year certificates were presented to Megan Wolter and Cassidy Oliver.

Bryan Zinkievich accepted an award for his mother, Sue Zinkievich, who has 45 years of membership in the auxiliary.

Two members of the East Shelby Volunteer Fire Company’s Ladies Auxiliary pose with Auxiliary president Brownyn Green, right, after being recognized at their annual banquet. Elaine Newton, left, was honored as recipient of the President’s Award, while Printup received a certificate as outgoing president.

Printup recognized Elaine Newton as the auxiliary member who had outdone herself in supporting the auxiliary.

“So many members outdid themselves, but this lady is the first here for any event and often the last one out the door,” Printup said. “She is a big help at all our events and is always here when I need her.”

Carol Lonnen and Gerry Zinkievich received bouquets of flowers for being willing to make a pie or an extra casserole when needed.

Lonnen and Zinkievich also were recipients of Dave Green’s Steward’s Award for being faithful supporters of the fire company.

The evening concluded with viewing the new fire truck and music by Eli Howard.

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