KEN: What does your organization do and what is its history?
How to Get FULLY INVOLVED! Toronto Firefighters Celtic Society
DAVE: We are a firefighter group that organizes social and fundraising events to enhance the experience of being a Toronto Firefighter. The events include the St. Patrick’s Day Parade, Beaches Boot Drive, Camp BUCKO Bonspiel, as well as purely social events like major league sports trips and even Christmas parties. We were organized in 2006 by John Poirier, Retired Captain and Mike Ogle, Captain PD&T, who gathered monthly with other firefighters. Many large fire departments in North America have an “Emerald Society” that are Irish based – but we chose to name ours “Celtic”, since that encompasses seven different nations. Even then - it’s only a name. We are firefighters first and you don’t have to be from those nations to be involved.
(Interview with Acting Captain David Cossitt, President, 313A) BY KEN DE JONG, TORONTO FIRE CAPTAIN, STATION 345-A
INTRODUCTION
This is a series of Q&A articles on Toronto Fire related organizations that can get you more involved in the firefighting community. Some of the best people on the job give back to the fire service in fun and exciting ways. If you find this organization interesting, consider reaching out to them for more information.
KEN: What is the structure of your organization and how do you decide how to do your activities and where to donate the funds?
DAVE: Our Executive is made up of four board members (myself 313A, Jason Atwell 324C, Pat Hayter 331D and Al Meyers 314B Rob Gutray 441C is our West Command Rep). We discuss events that we think everyone would enjoy. When we fundraise, we look at charities that are a little less mainstream and use very little of their funds for executive expenses. We want 100% of the donations going to the charity. Some examples are Camp BUCKO, the Rob Penney Memorial Slo-Pitch Tournament (which supports the International Fire Fighters’ Cancer Research Fund at Princess Margaret Hospital), the Canadian Fallen Firefighter Foundation, as well as non-charities, such as the TFS Pipes and Drums and TFS Honour Guard. We are very picky about where the money goes because we want it to make a difference and be local.
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