Fire district honors its own at banquet

A full house was on hand Saturday, March 19, at FivePine Lodge & Conference Center to enjoy and celebrate the annual Sisters-Camp Sherman Fire District awards.

Nearly 100 honored guests, family, and friends enjoyed a roast beef or salmon dinner, and a motivating keynote talk from guest speaker Paul LeSage. LeSage, a retired assistant chief from Tualatin Valley, Oregon, spoke to the assembled crowd about leadership and teamwork, critical elements of the fire service, and reminded everyone that good leaders strive to make the people around them better.

LeSage was followed by Sisters-Camp Sherman Fire District Board President Chuck Newport, who spoke in praise and appreciation of the professional dedication and exceptional service provided by both the volunteer and career EMS and fire service employees in the district.

Deputy Chief Tim Craig followed with a review of the prior year's highlights, which included a visit by five members of the Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service from England. The deputy chief played a short YouTube video produced by the visitors from England, which highlighted their activities while embedded with Sisters-Camp Sherman firefighters, and added that three Sisters firefighters, and three from Redmond, will be travelling to England next year as part of the exchange.

Deputy Chief Craig also expressed appreciation for the District's training and operations partners, including Black Butte Ranch Fire District, Cloverdale Fire District, the U.S. Forest Service, and the Oregon Department of Forestry.

Then it was time for the awards, which offered an instant reminder of the dedication and sacrifice made by fire and emergency services personnel. Fire Medic Ward was scheduled to enjoy a badge-pinning ceremony, but was called away during the ceremony to answer a call for service.

Award-winners were as follows:

• 5 years of service: Marsha Marr, Steve Huffman;

• 10 years of service: Bill and Sana Hayes;

• 15 years of service: Jeremy Ast, Jeff Liming;

• 25 years of service: Thornton Brown, Rita Hodge;

• 40 years of service: Tom Haynes;

• New Life Memberships awarded to: Chief Taylor Robertson, Stuart Honeyman;

• Outstanding Partnership Award: Black Butte Ranch Fire District and Cloverdale Fire District;

• Chief's Award for Excellence: Ernie and Beverly Halcon;

• Career Firefighter of the Year: Cody Meredith;

• Rookie of the Year: Kyle Sharek;

• Outstanding Fire Fitness: Kyle Sharek;

• Resident Volunteer of the Year: Cody Manzi;

• Fire Corps Volunteer of the Year: Heather Miller;

• Volunteer of the Year: Jeff Liming;

• EMT of the year: Rita Hodge;

• Firefighter of the Year: Ron Ketchum;

Fire Chief Roger Johnson also wanted to publicly acknowledge Julie Spor for her tireless work in organizing the awards banquet, and to highlight the commitment of Tom Haynes, who was honored for 40 years of volunteer service.