Recently you saw my internal conflict post regarding the fire department, and since then the winds of change are blowing. A couple days ago the board president and another member resigned. Damn. Guess who’s vice president of the board and now in charge? Yep, you guessed it… me.

Big sigh. Just as I was about to pack it in there’s a shift. Even a new momentum and, pun intended, fire in me. Another big sigh. But you know what? I can do this. Immediately after I got notice of these resignations, now I can direct and guide things my way. As I do in my corporate marketing world, with transparency, honesty and integrity all build on my integrative marketing fusion model of incorporating and valuing the human and empathetic element.

Now this isn’t marketing, but it’s leading a team, right? Just as I’ve done in my marketing work, I can bring this team together with a massive reset.

Next Steps

Things need to be done and immediately I began drafting notes, plans, meeting agendas, etc. Here’s what needs to happen:

1. Reach out and set a brief meeting to the current board members – done
2. Have an open and honest meeting with the members (me wearing my board leadership hat). I hope to have this meeting at our next training on Tuesday night. This needs to happen immediately as there is the issue of the membership survey which the former board president dragged his feet on. Also addressed will be the two filed grievances, inquiries to review board minutes, an investigation in the security cameras in the fire hall bay and accusations of embezzlement by our treasurer.
3. Actively search for 3 new board members from our community.
4. Update our Standard Operating Guide (SOGs) and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).
5. Help get member involvement to help the fire department chief and operations
   1. Entering run/incident reports into the state system
   2. Training and certification management
   3. Apparatus management
   4. Gear management
   5. Grant writing and fundraising
   6. Recruitment, retention and new member initiation
6. Drink a beer or two and smoke some baby back ribs.
7. Celebrate moving the department forward!

The Challenge Accepted

Though I didn’t plan on this, the universe has guided me in this direction and I feel an empowered energy and accept this challenge. I have gifts to lead the department board, and our community truly does deserve the best in terms of fire and emergency medical services.

Let’s go!