Iowa Firefighters Association

To all IFA members: In order to reduce cost and streamline the membership process, the IFA is moving to an online membership platform. At this time, we are missing several department email addresses and individual member email addresses. It is imperative that we collect a working email address for each fire department, and for all members who receive an individual notice so that we may transition to the new, online renewal system.

Please reach out to the Executive Director’s office at ifaoffice@iafireassn.org with your current contact and email information as soon as possible.

In the future, you will have the ability to renew your membership online. More details and instructions for using the new system will come out at a later date. Thank you for your continued support of the Iowa Firefighters Association!

IFA EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR ANNOUNCED

The IFA Board of Directors are pleased to announce that Advanced Association Management from Milford, NE has been retained to manage the IFA office and perform the duties of IFA Executive Director. This transition will take place effective November 1, 2019.

AAM is a company that provides management and directorship to both small and large associations in the Midwest and Internationally. They have been in business for over a decade, and currently have eighteen clients including the Nebraska State Volunteer Firefighters Association, the Nebraska Sheriffs Association, and the Nebraska Police Association to name a few.

This decision was made with much thought and consideration, and AAM was chosen after thorough vetting by speaking to existing clients with the most emphasis placed on the opinion of the Nebraska VFA. All the entities that we spoke to had nothing but good things to say about AAM.

I am sure that there will be questions about the choice to go with AAM as opposed to hiring an Executive Director from within the state. There are several factors that lead us to this decision. AAM is a one stop shop. They provide accounting, budgeting, accounts payable, billing and dues collection, web design, in-house printing and graphic design, mass email communication services, preparation and filing of IRS forms, meeting support to include attending board meetings and providing all of the printing of documents for said meeting, plus taking and typing the meeting minutes. They will also archive the IFA files in a climate-controlled area in the AAM office. In the present model, the IFA is paying multiple vendors for these services in addition to the Executive Director’s salary and benefits.

In addition to all the services listed above, they will be able to import the membership list from our current database and eventually move the IFA into the 21^st century by offering local fire department membership roster maintenance and online dues payments. They will have a dedicated account specialist for the IFA and will have office hours 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM daily,   M-F. The phone will be answered “Iowa Firefighters Association” and the account executive that is assigned to the IFA will be answering the phone. As we all know, life happens and one of the many advantages of AAM is that every member of their staff is briefed on and has access to our association files. This will provide for redundancy in the event our assigned staff member is out of the office.  As of this writing, AAM is currently in the process of interviewing for the account executive that will be assigned to our association. This person will be directly supervised by Kathi Schildt, President and Owner of AAM, plus will be surrounded by seasoned staff members.

The final question is: “How much is this going to cost the IFA”? The total cost for AAM to manage the IFA ended up being less than us paying an Executive Director and subscribing to and paying for the services that we are currently. Bottom line, this decision makes good business sense, plus is a cost savings for the IFA.

I would ask that the Membership be patient and understanding during the transition process. I am sure that it will have a few bumps in the road, especially with the condition that the IFA office was left in by our former employee.

Contact information for AAM:

IOWA FIREFIGHTERS ASSOCIATION

PO BOX 10

MILFORD, NE  68405.0010

ifaoffice@iafireassn.org

Ph.- 402.326.4347

Fax- 402.761.2224

Respectfully,

Gene A. Evans, President

APRIL 17-19, 2020

SHERATON- WEST DES MOINES

1800- 50TH ST

WEST DES MOINES, IA 50266

ROOMS- $119/NIGHT

515.223.1800

DIRECT LINK FOR MIDYEAR RESERVATIONS:

https://www.marriott.com/events/start.mi?id=1554997689273&key=GRP

 

IOWA FIREFIGHTERS ASSOCIATION THE VOICE OF IOWA’S FIRE FIGHTERS

POSTER PROGRAM RULES

The Iowa Fire Prevention Poster Program is sponsored by the Iowa Firefighters Association.

POSTER GUIDELINES

1. Children must be in 3^rd, 4^th, or 5^th grade to participate.

2. All posters should be judged by the school and local fire department in conjunction with Fire Prevention Week with the winning poster from each grade (not each class) then being submitted to the state level.

3. Posters must be drawn by individual students under supervision of their respective teacher.

4. Posters shall measure 12”x 18”.

5. The poster must have this year’s National Fire Protection Association fire safety message,

“ Plan and Practice Your Escape”

written on it. Students then depict this theme using words and/or pictures.

6. Posters may be drawn vertically or horizontally.

7. The poster cannot contain any paste-on applications or identifying words (i.e. student name, city name, fire dept. name)

POSTER IDENTIFICATION

The back of each poster must contain:

                1. Student name

                2. Student grade

                3. Teacher name

                4. School name, address and phone#

                5. Fire department name

This information must be printed on the back of the poster. Please be sure to include a phone number in case the committee needs to contact the teacher for any further information.

Failure to follow any of the above guidelines shall disqualify a poster from being judged

SUBMITTAL PROCESS

Only one poster from each 3^rd, 4^th, or 5^th grade per school will be accepted for judging at the state level.

Deadline for submittal is December 1^st.

Send local first place winners to:

            Jewell Fire & Rescue

            PO Box 399

            Jewell, IA  50130-0399

JUDGING

Poster judging will take into consideration the following:

            Appeal of the Fire Safety

            Message – 75%

            Artistic ability, originality

            and neatness – 25%

AWARDS

• Awards are given for 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd place in each grade.
• Each winner will be notified by mail and be invited to an awards banquet at a fire station.
• Each winner will receive a monetary award as follows:

      1^st place – $100

2^nd place – $50

3^rd place – $25

• The winners’ local fire departments will receive $50 to be used for their fire prevention programs.
• Winning posters become the property of the Iowa Firefighters Association and will be displayed at the Iowa State Fair Hall of Flame

We’re counting on you!  Let’s work hard to involve Iowa’s students in fire prevention!

Send their entries in so we can reward their effort

EFFECTIVE AUGUST 07, 2019, AMBER KEPHART HAS RESIGNED HER POSITION AS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE IFA.

WE WISH HER THE BEST OF LUCK IN HER FUTURE ENDEAVORS

ALL ELECTRONIC MAIL COMMUNICATIONS AND TELEPHONE CALLS FOR THE IFA OFFICE SHOULD BE DIRECTED TO: GENE A. EVANS, 1ST VP. gevans@iafireassn.org 319.240.9014

THE MAILING ADDRESS OF PO BOX 111, SIGOURNEY, IA 52591-0111 WILL REMAIN OPEN FOR THE INTERIM. HOWEVER, PLEASE BE ADVISED THAT THERE WILL BE A DELAY DUE TO THE MAIL BEING FORWARDED. MAIL MAY ALSO BE SENT TO GENE A. EVANS, 1ST VP 1102 OAK STREET OSAGE, IA 50461-1711

THE IFA BOARD OF DIRECTORS THANKS YOU IN ADVANCE FOR YOUR UNDERSTANDING DURING THIS TRANSITION.

RESERVE YOUR LIMITED EDITION BOTTLE TODAY!

BOTTLES WILL BE AVAILABLE FOR PICK UP AT CONVENTION!!

The Iowa Firefighter Association PAC is taking reservations for a limited supply of bottled vodka made by The Foundry especially for Iowa Firefighters. Each year, the outgoing IFA Presidents Fire Department will be featured on the label commemorating Iowa Firefighters. The 2019 bottle features the Garrison Fire Department and commemorates the 140th anniversary of the Iowa Firefighters Association. The back label lists all former IFA Presidents to honor their service in our state.

You can pick up a bottle at the 2019 Convention!

IOWA FIREFIGHTERS ASSOCIATION

THE VOICE OF IOWA’S FIRE FIGHTERS

Convention Drill Rules as approved at the Mid-Year Meeting of the IFA April 13^th 2019

2. Participants must be regularly appointed active members of the Fire Department they represent according to the records of the IFA and must be members of the Iowa Firefighters Association. EXCEPTION OF DRILL #10 (Water application Drill) IFA members are allowed to assemble a team consisting of members from multiple departments with the #1 person and #2 person being members of the represented department.

7. Starters will have full authority on starting drills. Starting ahead of the gun the second time shall disqualify the participant. All starters are to use the same cadence “Judges ready, Timers ready, Contestants ready, One, Two (Bang)”

8. The Judges shall impose penalties as provided in the Rules prescribed for each Drill and shall have the power to disqualify a team for improper conduct. The agreement by any two of the Judges shall constitute a decision. Decisions by the Judges shall be deemed final when the next team is on the line. A judge’s decision may be overturned by the consensus of all officials assigned to that drill. Any team contesting a judge’s ruling after the next team is on the line will be disqualified from that event.

19. All nozzle connections and coupling connections must show at least three (3) full threads or hand tight, at start or finish of drill, or both where required *WITH EXCEPTION OF DRILL #3.  For consistency, the same judge shall check both valves for tightness on drill #3.

EXPLANATION OF “three full threads or hand tight”: Couplings having more than three threads must be connected by at least three full threads. Couplings having less than three full threads must be connected hand tight. No quick couplers allowed.

22. Several drills may be run at the same time. If a firefighter or firefighters are participating in another drill being run, ample time will be given them to finish that drill before being up for next drill. However, in the event that there are no teams waiting, any available team may compete.

Convention Drill Training Rules

5 THE HITCHING POST – ONE FIREFIGHTER

OBJECT: Tie three knots as fast as you can.

Contestant starts the event by hitting a remote stopwatch on/off switch and ends the time by hitting the same switch. A judge also times the event for a backup. Contestant ties – bowline knot around post, Clove Hitch around post, and Figure Eight on a bight.

RULES: Association rope must be used; contestant must kneel in front of hitching post. Rope must be laid out length wise in a straight line with the middle of rope in front of contestant. Knots can be tied in any order; contestant cannot touch rope while touching start/stop button.

Judging, Penalties and Disqualifications: Knot should be tight enough that there are no open loops within the knot itself. If a standard marble (5/8 cat-eye) can fall through a loop within the knot itself the contestant receives a one second penalty. Contestant is disqualified for failing any of the three knots. If the rope has to be manipulated to make the knot look right, it is not considered to be tied correctly. The tail of the rope can be either in or out of the loop for bowline knot. Association equipment shall be used consisting of: One Hitching Post 32” x 32” made of 2 ¼ pipe. One 7/16 Kernmantle Rope 14 feet long (PMI Static E-Z Bend), One remote button to stop watch (used for start and stop timer)