Slated to honor Firefighter of the Year, three Civilians and two members of the Central New York Media
(Hamilton, NY – July 2013) The Central New York Firemen’s Association will be hosting the 120th Annual Central New York Firemen’s Association (CNYFA) Convention July 19 and 20 at the White Eagle Conference Center located on Lake Moraine in Hamilton.
CNYFA, as an Association, covers 20 counties in the Central New York area, many of them hard hit by “Mother Nature” in the past year.
The two plus days of activities will include conducting Association business on Friday and Saturday, which includes the elections of new officers and will conclude with an outside exhibition by the Oneida County Swift Water Rescue Team.
On Saturday morning, at 8:30 a.m. a somber Memorial Service will take place honoring those Central New York Firefighters and Ladies Auxiliary members who have passed on in the last year.
Immediately following this, one of the highlights of the Convention will take place: the presentation of several awards including Firefighter, Citizen and Explorer (Junior) Firefighter; An Award to a member of the CNY news media named after a late, lifetime member of the volunteer fire service and a journalist himself, is named the “James W. Wright Award for Fire Service Journalism. This will be presented to the Owego Pennysaver Press, specifically its editor Wendy Post and Reporter Rick Stilson for their role in covering the Line Of Duty Death wake and funeral of Owego Fire Department Captain Matthew Porcari back in February.
The Firefighter of the Year Award is going to Mohawk Fire Department Lieutenant Steve Scott, whose quick actions at work brought a fellow employee in full cardiac arrest back to life.
There are three winners for the Civilian of the Year, all from Delaware County in the Walton area. They are Trevor Moody, Holly Wilber and Kim Sperry. All three were involved in separate critical incidents that involved the saving of a life or property damage from fire.
The Convention will reconvene Saturday morning, and in the afternoon firefighters will gather to compete in “firematic hose & ladder races.”
The Convention will close Saturday evening with a banquet honoring Past Presidents and the installation of new officers.