Another year is upon us and I thank God that everyone is safe and sound with their families in this time of joy . This year has had its mixed blessings but all in all it was a great one. We said goodbye to a few of our members this year, and as hard as it is to see them go I am thankful to have known them and to have served with them. Let me tell you a bit about them, the first to leave was Brian Dwyre. Brian joined us in 07 and was here for a short time but the time he was here he contributed a great deal. He put himself through the San Antonio Fire Academy and also through EMT school. And he volunteered whatever time he had to the department. Now he has a job with Port Aransas Fire Department and is doing great. Good luck to you Brian in your future. The next one to leave us was Jonathon Ricks, Jon had to leave because he was offered a better paying job in Colorado with Zachery Construction. Ricks was in the process of obtaining his SFFMA certification and while he was here did receive his ECA cert. Jonathon was with us for 2 years and in those years he gave to the department much of his time and effort. He helped out with so much around here it will be very hard to replace him, best of luck to you and hurry back. The last two members that left I have to mention together, simply because they married one another. Andrew Flores and Anna Doddridge four and two years respectively. There time here these two accomplished a whole bunch of certification. Andy obtained his TCFP and EMT and Anna her ECA certification. Both have moved on with there lives and even have a new addition to the family, a beautiful baby boy Andrew Flores the fourth. Andy is now a firefighter with Balcones Heights and Anna graduated from Nursing school and are living in San Antonio. These four members of Jarret contributed so much of there time to our community, they went to training, they made calls, helped out in Fire Prevention classes, fund raisers and so much more. They will be deeply missed but not forgotten, they will always be welcome back into the fold if they should ever return.

 You lose people and you gain others, and the cycle starts all over. The training never stops and the search for good volunteers continues. Its an never ending process and if all goes well you end up with some very special people who want to learn and give of there time to the community we serve. The up coming year holds many promises , the FEMA grant that we were awarded in 08 for Training will be used to send 12 members to the San Antonio Fire Academy in August 09, the 2nd part of our grant is still pending and that one is a $ 200,000 state of the art Brush Truck. Other grants that are still pending, one from the USDA for our new station, Texas Forest Service for an extra Thermal Imager.

 2009 looks very promising and also very challenging, what with the economic hardships of the country and the always increasing expenses we face will make for quite a challenge. But our number one goal is and will continue to be, to make sure everyone goes home at the end of the day. That would make it a great year.

 One last item I would like to mention, I would like to congratulate the citizens of the City Of Von Ormy and all who made it possible. A lot of hard work went into accomplishing this dream, and a lot of hard work lays ahead. Happy New Years to everyone,