The honor guard started the event off with
presentation of the colors. As always,
by their very demeanor, these men inspired respect for the flags and for the
symbols of the fire service that they proudly carried. And they were later honored for their
service, not just to the department, but also to the community. They have presented the flags at events for
Moody Gardens several times during the years, and they have stood as honor
guards at hospitals and funerals for fire fighters. Thank you to Anastacio Urbina and the
effective team he leads.
Fire Chief Mike Wisko welcomed everyone,
and played his role as moderator of the occasion quite well. After the pledge and prayer of invocation,
Assistant Chief Charlie Olsen introduced some of the special guests who were
present. Among those was the city
manager, Brian Maxwell, who later spoke to the group with a brief word of
encouragement and thanks from the city for the department’s work as first
responders. Chief Olsen also
acknowledged visiting representatives from several departments surrounding
Galveston who had come to offer their encouragement.
Jimmy Wisner followed with his introduction
of the board of the fire fighters’ union.
These guys volunteer a lot of time to represent the fire fighters in contract
negotiations. They also meet with the
chiefs once a month to hash out any issues that have arisen. A little personal comment here … that seems
to me like a much better approach to problem solving than waiting until
contract negotiation time and unloading any pent-up frustrations all at
once. Way to keep the lines of
communication open all year long, guys.
Only one of the guys who have retired over
the past year was able to be there last night.
Hey, they are retired, right? That’s
the point of the first year of retirement … get in all the family and vacation
and rest you can. Carl Glaze represented
them well, though, and received his plaque with humility. There were plenty of other retirees in
attendance, though. Among them were
retired chiefs Jeff Smith and Mike Varella.
I guess the Astros were OK with Chief Smith missing one game. And Chief Varella is now a rookie in the Fire
Marshall’s office, starting his new career.
Promotions were next in the order of
events, and there have been quite a few.
And Chief Wisko pointed out that promotions are not rewards for
schmoozing with the Chief. Each level of
service requires hours of study, as well as passing an exam, to move through
the ranks from fire fighter to driver to captain to battalion chief to
assistant chief to chief. The department
underwent a re-organization this year, and several new battalion chief
positions were created to help oversee operations. Not only do these guys see that things are
running smoothly in day-to-day operations, they are also the ones who take
responsibility of command at fire scenes.
Battalion chief is not just an honorary position. These guys have a lot of work to do on the regularly-frustrating,
often-misunderstood world of paperwork and management.
Following the promotions the city secretary
administered the oath of office to the new guys who have been hired as fire
fighters this year. Each guys was able
to choose someone special in his life to do the honors of actually pinning the
badge on his uniform. After the real
fire fighters received their badges, the chief allowed me the honor of having
my chaplain’s badge pinned as well. My
wife Chris took care of that for me, and my fire fighter son Nathan stood with
her as well. I’ve never been a “uniform”
kind of guy, but I have to say the mixture of pride at being a part of
something like the fire service and extreme humility that they have accepted
and encouraged me like they have is something I will remember for a long time.
My personal favorite part of the evening
was the presentation of special honors. The
department instituted a new practice this year of rewarding key acts of life-saving,
service to the department, and service to the community. The award took the form of red, green, and
blue colored bars to be pinned on their dress uniforms. Some guys received one, two or even all three
bars. The crew of Water Rescue 5 was
especially recognized for their efforts at saving the lives of two people who
were stranded on a boat near the causeway.
Coast Guard and beach patrol coordinated with the department, and the
rescue was successful. The boat wasn’t even
damaged. Chief Wisko also mentioned two
separate incidents where quick action by fire fighters saved the lives of two
drowning victims. Nice job, guys. You are true heroes. Now, I have a special mention of my own
here. I want to say a word of
appreciation to those guys who have been involved in situation where you did
everything you could, whether at a drowning or a traffic accident or a fire,
and the person did not make it. Perhaps
the toughest scenario for any first responder.
I just have to say, you are certainly no less a hero. Kudos to you guys as well.
On a bit lighter note, one of the highlights
of the evening was when Chief Wisko introduced the ones who really run the fire
department. Nora Garcia was awarded a
trophy for her service in the Fire Marshall’s division. Trish Anderson was honored for her work as
the officially unofficial Mama to everyone in the department. The standing ovation was certainly
appropriate, Trish. We all love you.
All in all it was a very good night. Chief Wisko made a point to refer to the fire
service as a family, and I can certainly echo that sentiment. I’ll close this post by quoting the words he
posted after the ceremony last night:
“Very proud to be part of the Galveston
Fire Department and blessed to be serving as Fire Chief. Tonight we enjoyed a great awards ceremony
for the members of our Department.
Congratulations to all who received recognition, and thank you for representing
our city with pride and honor every day!
Thanks to all of our family members and supporters for always being
there for us. We are the best Fire
Department in Texas, and we will continue to prove that every day!!!!”
Well said, Chief.
2 Thessalonians 2:16-17 says, “May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God
our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and
good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and
word.”
Father, thank you for these guys who put
their life on the line for other people every time they go on shift. People they don’t even know. And … hey, I guess you know all about that, don’t
you? Thanks for putting your life on the
line for us. Bless our fire department
heroes. Walk with them every shift. Surround them with safety. And make the time they have with their family
more and more special every day. Amen.
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