Congratulations

Thanks are due to Glenn, Ed, and Phyllis for their work on the grant proposal for a new pumper. Ed hit the submit button last night, and the proposal was complete. Phyllis started it off with a rough draft a couple of weeks ago and Glenn and Ed spent a grueling week polishing it to perfection. The FEMA Assistance to Firefighters application rules were pretty stringent, and the final result was what we all thought a very good proposal. Well done!

A large part of a grant proposal is in documenting the personnel and the accomplishments of the fire department as a whole. This includes:

• Those who keep our books and records.



• Those who organize and come to training.



• Those who attend our business meetings.



• Those who help to raise funds, and who contribute to them.



• Those who have written proposals in the past, for that turns out to be a record of the past.



• Those who spend their vacations fighting fires elsewhere.



• Those who show up at calls, for that's why we're here.

All these things have to be established and verifiable - the first hurdle in evaluating a proposal is that it will be thrown out if these things can't be substantiated. So in addition to Glenn, Phyllis, and Ed, all those who have been a part of this deserve thanks as well.

There's another part of the documentation that goes into a grant proposal, and that's to establish the support of the community. The Wolfskin community that we serve has been steadfastly supportive through the years. We hope they realize the accomplishments they've made possible, and so a very large appreciation is due to them as well.

Thanks also to Mike Geraci, our former fire chief now in Michigan. He and colleagues encouraged and advised us in the early stages.

I don't mean to get all syrupy but you really don't realize how many efforts by so many people turn out to be important until you're involved in writing a grant proposal. It kind of lays it all out.

Call for Volunteers

Over the last few months we've bid, or will bid, farewell to several of our fine fellow firefighters. Andy took a job in southwest Georgia and is on indefinite leave. Scott will be leaving us at the end of June to the next step in his career. And Brian is off to the west to fight forest fires for the summer. We wish them all the best and grateful thanks for everything they've done for us.

And so that brings us to volunteers. We urgently need more firefighters, but there are plenty of jobs outside of that to do as well. You don't have to live in Wolfskin - Brian and Andy are/were Athens-Clarke County residents. You don't have to have previous training in firefighting - all of us started out as folks who didn't know anything about that and just wanted to learn and help the community.

Or maybe you've had a connection with or done firefighting in the past and want to take it up again on a more relaxed basis.

Whatever the case, think about it. Don't dismiss the possiblity because you think everything is under control and we have all we need. We don't. We need you, and welcome all of good will. Take a look through this website - there are well over a hundred posts here and I think you'll agree that we're an enthusiastic, relaxed, and committed group.

Finally, tell others you know, who you think may be interested but might not read our website. And let us know you did - that in itself is a volunteer effort that shouldn't go unthanked!

You can contact our Fire Chief, Ed Frey, or myself, at any of the phone numbers or email addresses located in spots all over this page. Or you can just drop by on any Thursday evening. That's when we're at 854 Wolfskin Road, working on the trucks, practicing a variety of skills, and generally having a good time.