We are pleased to announce the newest honorees in our 2014 Firehouse Magazine Community Service Awards program. We take pride in highlighting the actions of these outstanding individuals.
Art Reitz
Reno, NV, Fire Department
Art Reitz and his wife, Carol, founded the JUSTin Hope Foundation, which helps low-income families with children who have been diagnosed with neurodevelopment disorders. The Foundation is named after their son, Justin, who has autism. Art and Carol founded JUSTin Hope to help individuals and families acquire supplies and opportunities that they would not otherwise be able to afford. Fundraising events include a run for autism and firefighters calendar. The Foundation has raised $75,000 to fund monthly support group meetings, sibling workshops, tutor/respite connections and a Giving Awards Program.
Capt. James Ryan
Rochester, NY, Fire Department
For nearly 20 years, Capt. Ryan has coordinated the annual Christmas party and parade for the School of Holy Childhood, a program that aims to maximize independence and integration in the community for children and adults with developmental disabilities. Knowing that it can be difficult to find activities that are safe and appropriate for children with disabilities, Capt. Ryan works to ensure there is always one Christmas event that is suitable for everyone and that makes every child feel included.
As a liaison among the school, the fire department and the department’s benevolent association, Capt. Ryan organizes the event, which serves approximately 120 students and their families. Part of this coordination involves scheduling more than 150 Rochester Fire Department (RFD) firefighters for setup, cooking, entertainment and cleaning duties. Capt. Ryan makes sure that each and every RFD volunteer not only has a role to play, but that they are doing something that is appropriate to their particular skill set.
Capt. Steven Schowalter
Wichita, KS, Fire Department
Capt. Schowalter has been with the Wichita Fire Department (WFD) for 23 years—the last 17 as a member of Fire Prevention. Long before Capt. Schowalter joined the department, he was focused on public safety and community service. In 1979 he helped organize the Sedgewick County Battle of the Badges, a blood drive event between police officers and firefighters, which has collected 41,069 pints of blood. Through the years, he has continued his involvement, acting as the WFD coordinator and as a regular blood donor himself.
As a former teacher, Capt. Schowalter has focused on finding ways to help community youth excel. He is the liaison between the WFD and the local school district for a career pathway program aimed to educate students about the job of a firefighter. He has also spent time coordinating a competition among the area’s high school fire science students. During his time off, he volunteers with the Kansas Fire Museum Fire Camp, a program for middle and high school students.
Capt. Schowalter is also the coordinator for the department’s observer/ride-outs, developing the policy and forms and designing a systematic notification and verification process. Additionally, Capt. Schowalter developed a citizens fire academy alumni group to continue outreach with local adults.
Jason Woods
District of Columbia Fire and EMS Department
Jason Woods founded the D.C. Firefighters Burn Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to assisting firefighters and burn survivors in the D.C. metropolitan area. Woods, who has been president since 2004, has raised thousands of dollars to help maintain the organization’s survivor support programs, such as the Children’s Burn Camp in Union, CT; the Image Enhancement Program, which helps survivors with cosmetic techniques; and the World Burn Congress, an annual three-day event in which survivors gather to share stories, provide support and increase their knowledge of burn recovery.
Understanding that the effects of burns can have a wide-ranging impact, Woods and the Burn Foundation work with firefighters who are hospitalized because of injuries sustained in the line of duty and also provide hotel, transportation and meals to families while members are in the hospital recovering from burn injuries.
Woods is active with the American Burn Association, the IAFF, the NFFF and the burn centers at Washington and Vanderbilt hospitals. He is also a camp counselor for the annual Children’s Burn Camp.
