VFIS Sponsors FDSOA's Safety Forum Scholarship
The Fire Department Safety Officers Association is pleased to announce VFIS, a division of Glatfelter Insurance Group, America’s Leading Insurance Provider for Emergency Organizations, is the Platinum sponsor of the FDSOA’s Safety Forum Scholarship.
VFIS Executive Vice President Bill Jenaway stated, “VFIS is extremely proud to work with FDSOA in sponsoring attendance at the annual conference and providing safety officers with the opportunity to grow and develop.”
VFIS has a long history of helping the emergency service community protect their assets and manage their exposure to loss. VFIS drafted the first specialized insurance policy in 1969 and continues to be the leader in the industry, insuring more emergency service organizations than any other provider.
Rich Marinucci, FDSOA Executive Director, said, “VFIS and Bill Jenaway have always been supporters of safety officers. They continue to put their money where their mouth is and will help safety officers who don’t have the means to attend the Annual Safety Forum.”
The FDSOA Safety Forum Scholarship was created and initially funded by Dave Dodson, fire service author, lecturer and trainer. Dodson proposed an ongoing scholarship program to create a way to introduce new safety officers to the educational opportunities at the FDSOA Safety Forum. Annual support will afford more opportunities to additional safety officers.
The annual Scholarship includes registration to the Safety Forum, one pre-Forum seminar (Incident Safety Officer or Health Safety Officer), airfare or mileage and lodging.
Criteria for the scholarship application includes current uniformed member with a minimum two years’ experience in a fire or emergency services organization and never attended an FDSOA Safety Forum in the past or in the past five years. Department approval for attendance must accompany the application. The application is available at www.fdsoa.org/fdsoa-safety-officer-scholarship-award.
The 2019 FDSOA Safety Forum will be held January 23-24 at the Wyndham Orlando Resort I-Drive, Orlando, Florida. Prior to the Safety Forum, the two-day Incident Safety Officer Academy and the Health & Safety Officer Academy will be held on January 21-22.
Concurrently, the FDSOA Apparatus Specification and Maintenance Symposium is January 21-23, 2019. Pre-conference programs are scheduled for Sunday, January 20th and a new post-conference, hands-on aerial maintenance program is scheduled for Wednesday, January 23rd.
For more information visit: www.fdsoa.org.
The Fire Department Safety Officers Association (FDSOA) was established in 1990 as a non-profit association, incorporated in Massachusetts. In 2013, the offices moved to Michigan. Its mission is to promote safety standards and practices in the fire, rescue and emergency services community.
The association is led by a volunteer board of directors and has a small staff to handle the day-to-day operations. The association is dedicated to the issues that affect the critical role of the safety officer in protecting and promoting the safety and health responsibilities of fire departments, communities and first responders.
FDSOA works to helps fire departments achieve proficiency and promote the recognition of training, skills and a secure future. In May 2016, FDSOA won the Paul S. Sarbanes Fire Service Safety Leadership Award for its work over 29 years, “as an organization fully dedicated to the health and safety of the nation’s firefighters.”
