President’s Report

Already? ThatiswhatIwouldsaytomyselfeverymonth when the infamous “magazine content” email from Sara would show up in my inbox. Didn’t I just send her last month’s? Almost every month a second “friendly reminder”emailwouldbenecessary. Tobehonest,Ithink Sarawouldjustsendthatemailbecausesheknewmywife Dawn would see it and Sara would then have an ambassador to help keep me on task. If you find a little humor in that, just think about this happening 16 times.

The last couple of months my articles have focused on vision for the future.As important as that is, looking back on past successes and shortcomings can also be very beneficial. So, as I started to think about this month’s article, I took a couple of minutes to look back at topics from my previous articles; Building blocks, Communication, Teamwork, Networking, Planning, Acquaintances, District Meetings, Tourism, Vision, Dedication, Guidance, Annual Conference, Customer Service.

Well,formylastarticle,IthoughtIwouldthrowyouareal curve ball and talk about a group of your friends and neighbors who far too often go unnoticed and under appreciated(notonpurpose). Thisgroupofpeopleisyour Volunteer Fire Department! When the pager goes off, these dedicated individuals excuse themselves from the family dinner table, birthday party or sleeping to respond to the call for help. Truth be told, the commitment these folks have to their community is second to none. The average citizen is not aware of the time, dangers and emotional toll each of the department’s members deal with. In Baltic, our Volunteer Fire & Rescue responds to ~125 calls per year with an average of 1 hour per call and mostly attributed to an EMSrelatedsituation. AsI look back to the topics of my previous articles, there are a number of them that are vital to ensuring these members safely return to their home and family. If you would, please take time to support and thank each and every member of your community ’s fire department.

I am truly honored and blessed to have served as your SDMLPresident.Thank you for your support.

MikeWendland