President

Congratulations on a Great 40^th Annual Conference!

Thanks to all who worked and participated in our 40th Annual Conference. The conference was a great success. Vendor participation was the best ever. Chief Richard Martin should be commended on a great year of service.

During our conference there seemed to be a renewed commitment to our Association and to the Fire Service in Tennessee. We need to embrace that commitment in a pro-active manner and take our organization to the next level.

I would like to address and accomplish the following three goals this year:

1. The Fire Fighter Memorial has been on the table now for four years. It is time for the Fire Service in Tennessee to put every effort into completing this project. The TFCA Board of Directors has approved a $5,000.00 dollar donation and will be leading the charge in each Grand Division to raise the funds necessary. It is everyone’s responsibility to do what is required to make this a success. Our Fallen Heroes and their families deserve no less. We need every firefighter in the state committed to this goal. Together we can make this happen.

2. Strategic Planning for the Chiefs Association has been under development for sometime. With the help of our MTAS and CTAS consultants we will complete this project. The plan will identify who we are, where we are going and how we will get there.

3. The State Wide Mutual Aid Plan is in the final stages of development. This is a TFCA project that has been in committee since last year. There have been hundreds of hours of work committed on this issue. We should be ready to complete the database and coordinate the implementation with TEMA this year. Please refer to our website for information on this project

I am very excited about the potential accomplishments we have before us in the 2008-2009 year. I also look forward to working with each of you as we strive for a Fire Safe Tennessee.