 Meet our newest member. Gary March!
What is your occupation? I'm the Executive Director at a local assisted living facility. Why did you join your local volunteer fire department? I joined the West Glenville fire department because I have always been interested in serving my community as well as being a fire fighter. I think that people who have the ability should always try and give back whenever and wherever possible. I'm so excited to begin this new journey! What is your role within your department? As someone who is completely new to the world of firefighting, I'm just looking to learn as much as I can and ask questions about everything. I have so much to learn, but I'm eager and ready to learn! What is one of your most memorable moments in the volunteer fire or emergency services? I don't have one yet, but I can't wait to make some great memories! Why do you think it is important for young people to get involved with their local volunteer fire department? We need to continue to infuse youth into our department because we have such a fantastic team, but they're not going to be around forever. It's a cyclical thing and the more youth we can have in the department, the better off we'll be for years to come! What contributions do you hope to make in your community? I have been on several boards and committees in my life. I hope I can bring that experience to the department! Do you have any advice on balancing the demands of volunteering with your job/family? As with anything in life, balance is key - having a career, wife, two young children as well as volunteering can be incredibly demanding, but you need to make sure that you give enough attention to each thing and not have one thing over another monopolize your time. Anything else you would like to add? So excited to start this next chapter in my life!
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 Meet Pete Bednarek, one of our Hometown Heroes! What is your occupation? I'm a school administrator - High School Principal at Scotia Glenville Home of the Tartans! I am also co-owner of Wolf Hollow Brewing Company  Why did you join your local volunteer fire department? The short answer is that one spring my yard was flooded and the water was running over my driveway and into my basement. My neighbor, Conrad Saunders and Jack Ellis went down the the West Glenville Fire House and brought up a truck with a pump and stood with me in knee-deep water until the flood was pumped out. They said, "why don't you come down to the firehouse on Monday night? You could join, you know?" To that point in my life (I was probably about 30) I did not realize that you could join a fire department with no experience. I walked through the door next week and told Patti Ellis that I just wanted to be able to help my neighbors out whenever I could. What is your role within your department? I am proud to be a "black hat" volunteer firefighter who is willing to do whatever I can to help folks in this community. I came to the fire service approximately 12 years ago with zero experience. I am not the most experienced and I'm not the most knowledgeable but I try to keep my body in decent condition, maintain basic competencies, and I'm willing to crawl around in a burning building, climb a ladder in turnout gear, or help someone with injuries or illness through basic first aid until more sophisticated services arrive. What is one of your most memorable moments in the volunteer fire or emergency services? There have been quite a few important memories that jump out as I think about what has happened through volunteer service in West Glenville. Some are serious - matters of life and death and health and safety. Others are funny. Most are important because they have built a stronger connection to this community. When a friend's dog died in a terrible house fire, I was glad that I could be there to carry that body to a place where they could see him away from the rest of the nightmare they were experiencing. I was thrilled to be able to work with some other firefighters to get some children's goldfish out alive after they lost most of their possession in a house fire. I helped administer a shock with an AED and witnessed a miracle of modern medicine as a man's heart was shocked back into rhythm to that he was talking with us as we loaded him in an ambulance. I will never forget the fact that I wasn't kicked out of the fire company after my first fire in which I dropped an axe from the roof through the second story to the first floor where it landed a few feet behind our chief. I thought my volunteer service was ending on my first call but the chief handed the ax back up and said, "hey Pete; you might want to hold that differently." Why do you think it is important for young people to get involved with their local volunteer fire department? I was relatively young when I joined (in my early 30s) because most of the folks in the fire service have been serving for a long time and we haven't had many new people join in recent decades. There are tasks for everyone, but certainly many opportunities and needs for people with young strong bodies. If I had known about how to get involved with the fire service - I could have joined 10 years earlier! As our bodies get older, we take on different tasks and there is always a need for younger members from a physical standpoint. It's also just important to have people of all ages because this represents our community. We need to be raising up the next generation of leaders. What contributions have you (and your department) made in your community? In West Glenville there aren't very many organizations. The Volunteer Fire Company is a critical pillar of our small part of Glenville because we bring people together in tangible (and non-tangible ways). The fire company hosts gatherings and celebrations throughout the year. We provide services like roadside clean-ups and emergency power when there are outages. The health and safety aspect of what we do is obviously paramount and that is a clear representation of people who are just there when you need them. Do you have any advice on balancing the demands of volunteering with your job/family? Anything else you would like to add? I'm not sure I'm the best person to ask about balancing the demands of volunteering along with job/ family/ hobbies etc. I tend to have a pretty crazy work/life imbalance but I have been fortunate to be allowed to participate with West Glenville Fire Co as much as I have. I try to maintain core competencies despite having many conflicting responsibilities with my jobs at school and Wolf Hollow. Emergencies don't tend to happen at the most convenient times but fortunately for me, many of them occur during times when we might otherwise just be asleep - I figure, as long as I can still help out a neighbor in need by giving up some hours of sleep or pitching in when needed, then I want to do that. It makes our community stronger and safer. When others participate in the same and different ways, giving what they can - it all works. That's the kind of place I want to live with my family. |
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