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Salutations from Leslie |  Greetings, I'm Leslie Adent, the newly elected Chair for the FAFLSE section under the FFMIA. I am honored to serve our organization along with Liz Monforti as Vice Chair, Jeanene Green as Secretary, Dave Collado as Public Relations and Puddin Race as Past Chair. We are all excited about our new positions and getting on with making a difference in the lives of the citizens we protect and serve.
A good number of us are just returning from the 22nd Annual Fire and Life Safety Educators Conference held at the Hilton in Clearwater Beach. What a wonderful conference it was!!! Many old friends and many new friends met with anticipation of fellowship and the exchange of information and ideas.
The Conference Committee did a superb job in meeting that goal. Not only did they provide one of the best Public Educators tracks at the conference but the Inspectors track exceeded expectations covering current code and safety issues. Thank you to the Conference Committee for such a great job!!!!
Special congratulations go to the 2010 award winners:
- The Lifetime Achievement Award went to Gerri Penney of West Palm Beach. It was presentented to her based on her stellar career and dedication to safety.
- The Educator of the Year was awarded to Largo's Jeanene Green. Her long list of achivements, safety programs, service to FAFLSE made her a great choice.
Now our sleeves are rolled up and we are ready to get back to work. We are refreshed and revitalized with new ideas and programs to bring back to our departments and our communities. We are ready for the challenge and only see good things happening. You'll be hearing about our accomplishments in the months to come!
Sincerely,
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Tampa Bay Ray's Relief Pitcher, Andrew Sonnanstine, Fulfills Dream |
 Andrew (Andy) Sonnanstine is a relief pitcher for the Tampa Bay Rays. He graduated from Wadsworth High School in Wadsworth, Ohio, and attended Kent State University before joining the Rays. Playing baseball isn't the only dream Sonnanstine has had. "For five years I've been driving by the Master Fire Station in downtown St. Petersburg," stated Sonnanstine. "Becoming a firefighter is something that I have always been interested in." On Friday, June 11th, 2010 Andy got to fulfill that dream, if only for a day. Sonnanstine joined firefighters from Station 5. Andy wore firefighter gear, rode the aerial truck 100 feet into the air, had lunch, slid the fire pole and responded to medical calls. "It was great." stated Sonnanstine. "It was better than I could ever imagine."
Andy Sonnanstine second from the Left in the photo.
Article Provided By: Lt. Joel S. Granata Deputy Fire Marshal/PIO St. Petersburg, FL 33701 |
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Band Aids Won't Work | |
Many, many years ago while in EMT/paramedic school we were taught a very valuable lesson - the difference between signs and symptoms; do you remember that? A sign is something you see, a symptom was something the patient told you. How important that was to recognize and how it important it remains today. Why?
It's important because to fail to recognize the difference was to fail to properly treat the patient, or that is to say by extension, for this discussion, run the department. Example - if the cardiac monitor was showing a normal sinus rhythm and all else appeared within normal limits by standard, but the patient states he has severe discomfort breathing, there are perhaps two different treatment modalities; Ignore what the patient is telling you in favor of the equipment; in essence suggesting what the patient has said is unimportant, or acknowledge the complaint and do something to make the patient feel better. The former is an improper treatment, i.e. the band-aid, the latter...proper treatment as it recognized the holistic nature of the task at hand.
That's kind of where we are today in many areas of life and our fire service...we're treating the equipment, not the patient; hence we're using band-aids in place of proper holistic treatment protocols.
For many reasons, too many to identify in this article, the problem is endemic and pervasive. In today's society even when parents properly discipline their children, society allows the children to file a complaint with authorities alleging wrong doing on the weakest of evidence. The subsequent problem is that these children then believe they are the 'dog' wagging the 'tail' when actually it's the other way around and what's worse, they then become adults with thoughts carried forward from the allowance of incorrect and otherwise unacceptable behavior.
They carry that life experience with them into the work place as adults where all too often, employers continue to coddle them; the essence of which is the band-aid approach, i.e. incorrect treatment modalities.
In the work place today, there is a serious lack of appreciation for what's right or wrong and why. Feelings from employees today are indicative of a generation that wants to call its own shots so to speak; indifferent to established authorities. Supporting this in the worst economic decline in many decades, some labor organizations allege that they're still entitled to pay increases and improvement of employee benefits, when taxes are down on an epic scale and millions of Americans are out of work. These same organizations would have us believe that all else is unimportant. Well, I disagree.
While it is true, many jobs are dangerous and necessary, that alone doesn't carry the day. Indeed firefighting/EMS service jobs are a dangerous occupation and one that is needed by the public at-large, but fiscal managers cannot proceed indifferent to the whole issue of providing those services, only a part of which includes the dangers and the public's needs.
But from a band-aid vs. a holistic approach platform, there is even more to it than that. Managers must find more ways to creatively manage with the rank and file in tow as never before. One department I know of tells its employees what they can and can't do, both on and off duty through the use of their employee manual. This is holistic. This department meets regularly with its personnel and trains on such things as the basis for the department's rules and regulations. They do not simply spew out the do's and don'ts, they reel in the members making them stake-holders in the successes AND the not-so successful ventures, indentifying where and why improvement in necessary.
These kinds of activities (i.e. treatment modalities for the signs and symptoms) must be in harmony with the overall goals and objectives which amount to nothing less than a healthy organization. Less than that is not proper treatment; it's a 'band-aid' approach to management.
Bargaining with an employee to get a task done is a band-aid. 'Alright Joe, if you'll just go and do [whatever], I'll see about a special exception for your leave request. NO, that's not a proper treatment. It's a band-aid. If you need Joe to do whatever it is that needs to be done, then direct him to do it with the clear rationale and authority for doing it. Separate and distinct is any petition to the contrary by Joe. If Joe's petition to the contrary is indeed unique however, then address it because it's unique, not because you've bargained with him or otherwise coerced his cooperation.
We're in the protecting lives and property business and we do that in many different ways; yes, ways that are collaborative and not subject to negotiation. We are charged with the responsibility of making solid informed decisions based upon the facts as they are.
For example: If an employee's performance is not up to par, then tell him/her just that; but tell them kindly. To do otherwise is to continue putting a band-aid on a wound that if it heals, will not heal properly and will reappear again with scar tissue that's even harder to deal with. Remembering to 'commend' before you 'condemn' will go a long way in the mind of the employee and will very likely achieve the desired results.
Proper use of disciplinary actions is a very integral part of proper treatment. Employees that fail to perform at an acceptable level should be evaluated, counseled, and directed based upon those actions. That will lead to employee improvement. Disciplinary action policies are designed to correct or change conduct that is unacceptable or out of harmony with an agency's stated goals and objectives. So when an employee has an outburst of anger and produces a battery of swear words, call him/her out for it; that's a code of conduct violation. If we don't do that, there's a message being sent and that message is; the former conduct is acceptable when it's not.
Code of conduct on or off duty that besmirches the department is conduct subject to disciplinary action. Contrary to the feelings of some who believe their conduct off duty is not the business of the department, well, that's simply wrong. Feelings like, 'You can't tell me what to do when I'm not at work' are very prevalent in today's work force. But when one's personal name is affiliated with a public trust such as the trust conferred upon the fire department, indeed, off duty activities are going to be addressed when such activities are called into question.
When you "change the way you look at things, the things you look at change" stated Dr. Wayne Dyer. Indeed, the things one accepts from others will be known as one's standard ultimately. So, don't accept what you know to be less than what's supposed to be done. Don't put band-aids where proper dressings are supposed to be. Use holistic management practices and treat the whole 'patient' so that he/she recovers in full.
Don't let an underachiever, a problem employee, get you to do their bidding for them as if they supervised you and the department you're charged to run. If they have an issue, let them take up it according to departmental procedures.
A June 2009 Reuter's report[1] noted that the most trusted government workers in society today are firefighters. Firefighters were trusted by 92 percent of respondents, and politicians by 18 percent. That is no accidental statistic! It comes from hard work and holistic, not band-aid management. How sad it is though when we hear of or read of firefighters that make such pathetic and dismal choices so as to cause the public to distrust us. The public that has been offended by such conduct as drinking while on duty when in an official capacity, or by theft, or lying and the like, is the victim of such conduct. The awful result of such things is that the public that's been offended by such conduct may never have another opportunity to undue that perception and perhaps, neither will that department. What's worse, for many of those victims, those incidents were the first exposure they've ever had or will ever again have with the fire service. Tragic indeed!
There are law enforcement agencies around this country that for decades are still trying to offset the years of corruption from within.
Swift and decisive action, i.e. proper treatment must be implemented. No amount of efforts to justify improper actions will be as effective or well received as the simple admission of wrong doing and the subsequent commitment to rectify the wrong. Holistic treatment means we fix it before it's broken; band aid treatment is akin to waiting for something to break and then try to respond to that.
Every sworn firefighter from the 'probie' to the chief officer with decades of service has a responsibility to recognize that band-aids won't work. Do you?
Article Provided By:
Bart Wright Assistant Chief of Operations Maitland, Florida
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Largo's, Jeanene Green Captures
The 2010 FAFLSE/FFMIA Educator of The Year Award |
Largo's Jeanene Green was presented this year's Trophy for the 2010 Educator of the Year. Her name will be added to the nameplate on the large trophy which stays in the reception hall at the Florida State Fire College. She was given a personal trophy to keep.
Jeanene's body of work has been acquired over many years of working diligently for the benefit of the citizens in her area. It would be impossible to recall all of her accomplishments, but a few include:
- provides traveling safety trunks for schools to check out
- promotes Bicycle/Pedestrian safety with a "Walk Fit - Walk to School" program
- organizes station open houses with large attendance figures
- does home safety surveys
- participates in Youth Fire Stoppers Programs for problematic fire setters
- organizes a mini fire camp each summer
- holds an annual safety competition with the winner's work going on a billboard
Jeanene has been a long-time member of FFMIA, serving on the FAFLSE Board. Congratulations from all of us! |
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Gerri Penney Given Lifetime Achievement Award | |
 The Lifetime Achievement Award is only give when there is a person who has done a outstanding job over time, participated in the FFMIA/FAFLSE in an influential manner and especially contributed in such a way as the FAFLSE Board deems "exceptional".
Palm Beach County Fire Rescue's Gerri Penney is the ipitome of a professional who has dedicated her life to the safety of others. She has also been a huge influence on other fire safety professionals with her national service. Dr. Penney is an instructor for the National Fire Academy, serves on NFPA's 1035 Committee of Professional Standards, serves on the Fire and Emergencey Services Higher Education (FESHE) Team, serves on the EMAC committee (Educational Messages) just to name a few.
Over time she she served on the FFMIA board and as Secretary for four years. Penney was chair of the Education Committee before the Florida Association of Fire and Life Safety Educators became a "section". She was the 2000 FFMIA/FAFLSE Educator of the Year. In 2009 FFMIA presented her with the Lifetime Member award, making her a "fellow".
If you need to know the answer, Gerri Penney will either know it or be able to send you in the right direction. She has recently finished her doctorate degree and will walk for her graduation August 10, 2010.
Congratulations, Dr. Gerri Penney!
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