| On Saturday, May 6th, 2006 the members of the Westwood Fire Company received a night off for the celebration of our 59th Annual Banquet.
This year's banquet was held at the Fire Company in the Bingo Hall. Each year, this night is dedicated to the men and women who help out with the Fire Company throughout the year.
The night began with introductions of the Fire Company Officers by President Amer. Fire Chief Sly introduced the 2005 Fire/Rescue Officers and neighboring fire company guests in attendance. EMS Chief McWilliams also introduced his officers and welcomed neighboring EMS company guests, and Fire Police Captain Wharton introduced the Fire Police Officers.
Dinner this year was provided by Belfor Property Restoration. A fine meal consisting of chicken marsala, roast beef, vegetables, mashed potatoes, and appetizers was enjoyed by all.
Just after dinner, Fire Chief Sly presented a "2005 Year in Review" Power Point presentation to the audience. The slide show featured highlighted events and emergencies that the fire company responded to in 2005. The slide show can be viewed here: http://www.westwoodfire.com/content/incidents/Media/59thbanquet.ppt
Following the slide show, the Award Presentations began to the members of the Company who provided exemplary service over the last year.
Chief Sly presented the Top 10 Fire Responders each a gift certificate to "The Fire Store."
The Top 10 Fire Responders were:
10. Adam Grossman
9. Jim Pilotti
8. Mike McWilliams (Tie)
8. Mike Kellon (Tie)
7. Sam Smith
6. Paul Shaner
5. Jesse Davis
4. Ronald P. Scott
3. John Sly
2. Dave Wharton
1. Bill Dill
Following the Top 10 Awards, Chief Sly then made a special presentation to Firefighter Kubala and EMS Chief McWilliams, who both achieved their National Firefighter 1 Certification in 2005. These two members were presented with fire tools from Reading Fire Equipment.
The time came for the Firefighter of the Year Awards. The 1st Place 2005 Firefighter of the Year was presented to EMS Chief Mike McWilliams. Lieutenant Bill Dill received 2nd Place, and Chief Engineer Dave Wharton received 3rd Place.
Ronald P. Scott was given the Driver of the Year Award and Sam Smith was given the Junior Firefighter of the Year Award.
Following the Fire Awards, EMS Chief McWilliams came forward to present the 2005 EMS Awards. The 2005 1st Place EMS Provider of the Year was presented to EMT Dave Wharton. 2nd Place was presented to EMT Mike Kellon, and 3rd Place was presented to EMT Bill Dill.
A special EMS Chief's Award was presented to Paramedic Erin Gongloff for her success in founding the Westwood Fire Company EMS Training Division.
Fire Police Captain Dave Wharton then presented his awards for 2005. The 1st Place Fire Police Award went to Fire Police Lieutenant Emilia Miller, and 2nd Place went to Fire Police Officer Jim Pilotti. Fire Police Captain Wharton then presented each member who made even one Fire Police call with a certificate thanking them for their service.
Following the Fire Police Awards, Deputy EMS Chief Biddle made a special presentation to EMS Chief Mike McWilliams and Fire Chief John Sly for being the only two members to respond to over 1,000 Ambulance Calls since the start of our Ambulance Service just five years ago.
The final award presentation of the night was the Joseph Sweigart Memorial Award. Each year, one member of the Fire Company will be chosen to receive this award in memory of Joe. He or she who is chosen is someone in the Company who goes above and beyond the call of duty on a daily basis, provides dedicated service to the Company and Community, and advances the Fire Company to new levels as the future goes on.
Joe's widow Mary Sweigart was on hand to assist with the presentation. This year's award recipient was EMS Chief Mike McWilliams for his extreme dedication to the Fire Company Ambulance Division. Congratulations Mike.
Following the Awards, all members were able to dance the night away with music provided by the band 'Triple Shot.'
This was a wonderful night to reflect on our accomplishments in 2005.
Special thanks to the Gordonville Fire Company of Lancaster County and the Modena Fire Company Ambulance for providing coverage to our Community while we celebrated this night so that our members could enjoy a night off. |
