Page 15 - Sentinel March 2017

AND A LOCAL SUNSET BY KRIS WEBER...
Simply because it’s beautiful.

The runner-up nominees, FF/EMT Derek Sams (career employ-
LFPD FIREFIGHTERS HONORED ee), FF/EMT Collin Heller (volunteer), FF/EMT Ryan Smedra
(part time employee), and FF/EMT Danny Duran (volunteer)
BY THEIR OWN
Ken Sanders... were recognized during the awards banquet and were presented
with a gift card and an LFPD Chief’s Recognition challenge
The Larkspur Fire Protection District coin.
held its annual Awards Banquet this
year at the Bear Dance Country Club Division Chief Charles Walden received a special award. He
on January 20th. has been a volunteer with LFPD for over 13 years and, in ad-
dition to his countless, selfless operational contributions to the
Each year the district selects the paid community, he has submitted a number of successful grants for
firefighter of the year and volunteer the district which have saved the taxpayers approximately 1.4
firefighter of the year. In addition, million dollars in equipment and personnel costs.
the volunteer who completed the most training hours for the
year is honored for dedication and commitment.

Captain Brian Johnson successfully completed the National
Fire Academy’s Executive Fire Officer Program (EFOP) and
was presented with his professionally framed completion cer-
This year FF/EMT Robert Lawrenz (volunteer) earned the
award for the most training hours and, incidentally, the volun- tificate. The EFOP is a rigorous masters level program which
teer firefighter of the year award. The paid firefighter of the typically takes a minimum of four years to complete. Each year
year award was earned by FF/EMT John Motley (part time em- students are required to attend a two-week class at the National
ployee). Fire Academy in Emmitsburg, MD. The classes cover Execu-
tive Development, Executive Analysis of Community Risk
Reduction, Executive Analysis of Fire Service Operations in
Emergency Management, and Executive Leadership. Within
six months following each class students are required to submit
a rather involved and lengthy applied research project (ARP)
written in American Psychological Association (APA) research
format. Each research project must be based on current issues
faced by the student’s agency and incorporate knowledge/pro-
cesses learned from the preceding class.
Perry Park Sentinel March 2017 - Page 15