Mission Fire Rescue tackled a recycling facility fire.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hello fellow SFFMA members,

 

Fall District Meetings have come to an end.  My apologies if I had not been able to attend your local district meeting, but I will try to see you in the Spring. 

 

As stated in last month’s letter, many of the board members have delivered items for Recruitment and Retention for the districts to utilize and share with the local departments in their area.  We hope that you find these items useful in recruiting new members to local departments, but also new departments to the districts.

 

As we look toward the end of 2025, November 1 started the renewal timeframe for departments and individuals. I must remind you that your yearly membership expires on December 31 at midnight, which also means year membership benefits expire. 

 

The next several months will become very busy and hectic, so please remember to get that membership renewed early.

 

 

If you need assistance, please feel free to reach out to the Austin Staff and they can help guide you.

 

Austin Staff and Executive Board members are preparing for the 2026 Conference Planning Meeting on January 9 at the Austin Office and following that we will be hosting the District Officers Symposium from January 9-11.  We are certainly looking forward to seeing everyone again and sharing ideas to help the districts and SFFMA prosper.

 

As I stated earlier, the next several months will become hectic as we bring 2025 to a close, with the holidays approaching, I wish you a great holiday season. Enjoy your time with family and friends, between the calls, as you can.      

 

As I close out, I again want to take the opportunity to thank you for your service to your community and your department. 

 

Stay Safe!

The 2026 District Leaders’ Symposium will be hosted by the SFFMA Executive Board at the SFFMA Offices in Austin, January 9-11, beginning at 6 p.m. on Friday and concluding at noon on Sunday. 

 

Two members of each current District Executive Board should be chosen by the district to attend the Leaders’ Symposium —districts should email the names of those attendees to the state office.

 

Read more...

 

WE LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOUR DISTRICT LEADERS
AT THIS IMPORTANT MEETING! 

by Cherry Kay Abel

 

As we move deeper into the fall season, we welcome the arrival of cooler weather here in Central Texas. The change in seasons brings a renewed sense of focus and energy as we continue our work to support departments and firefighters across the state.

 

I want to extend my sincere appreciation to all our members for your continued dedication to your communities and to the Texas fire service. Your commitment keeps our association strong and moving forward.

 

This year’s round of district meetings ended with a bang, showcasing strong turnout, energetic participation, and renewed enthusiasm across the state. It was inspiring to see members coming together to exchange ideas, celebrate accomplishments, and plan for the year ahead. Your involvement is what drives our success and ensures that SFFMA continues to grow in meaningful ways.

 

Our planning efforts for the District Officer Symposium remain in full swing. The symposium will be held at the SFFMA State Office, beginning on Friday, January 9th at 6:00 p.m. and concluded on Sunday, January 11th at noon. This event will provide an important platform for leadership development and collaboration among district officers.

If you are planning to attend, please RSVP to cabel@sffma.org by November 29th. An agenda will be shared soon as we finalize the sessions and presenters. We look forward to an engaging and productive event that will strengthen leadership and communication across the state.

 

We will also hold a Conference Planning Committee meeting on Friday, January 9th, from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the SFFMA State Office, prior to the district meeting.

 

 

This session will allow the committee to review early details and set priorities as we begin preparations for the upcoming annual conference.

 

In addition, our 2025 Membership Drive officially launched on November 1st. This campaign is an excellent opportunity for members to renew or join and take advantage of the many benefits SFFMA offers which include VFIS insurance coverage, store discounts, and exclusive savings through AMBA and SAVVIK, as well as access to SAFER Grant resources. We encourage every department to participate and help spread the word within your districts.

 

Thank you once again for your steadfast service and leadership. Each of you contributes to the success of the Texas fire service and to the continued growth of our association. As always, please don’t hesitate to reach out to our staff with questions, ideas, or concerns. We are here to listen and to serve you.

 

As we head into the holiday season, I want to wish all of you a wonderful Thanksgiving. May you cherish the moments shared with your family and friends, and take time to rest and reflect on the many blessings we enjoy within our fire service community.

 

Stay safe, stay connected, and thank you for all you do.

 

With appreciation,

 

Cherry Kay Abel
Executive Director

SFFMA

Bryce Basham

Served 2002-2013 in U.S. Army

3/160 Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne) Motor Sergeant 

Deployed six times: 5 Iraq, 1 Afghanistan Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation Enduring Freedom

Jacob Presley
Served 2008-2013 in the U.S. Army

Deployed three times:
Bagram, Afghanistan 2008-2009
Kandahar, Afghanistan 2010-2011
Salareno, Afghanistan 2012-2013
Operation Enduring Freedom

Marshall Miller
Served 2008-2013 U.S. Army

A Co 1-101st Combat as Apache Helicopter Crew Chief Aviation Brigade
Deployed three times:
Bagram, Afghanistan 2008-2009
Kandahar, Afghanistan 2010-2011
Salareno, Afghanistan 2012-2013
Operation Enduring Freedom.

 

 

 

 

If you buy a pie for $1,000, folks might think you’ve lost your sanity. But when you bid on that same pie to help raise $1,000 for a volunteer fire department, people cheer you on, at least at the annual 'Morgan Mill VFD
Pie, Cake and Brisket Auction' they do.

 

On the second Saturday each November, residents and visitors in this small town about 16 miles north of Stephenville, Texas, gather for an evening of delicious food, laughs, surprises and auction bidding.

 

“We typically have about 200 or more people attend,” said Morgan Mill VFD Asst. Fire Chief Phil Flinn.

 

He’s been with Morgan Mill VFD about 11 years, starting as a firefighter when he first moved to the community.  The department covers 170 sq. miles and roughly 5,000 residents.

 

In advance of the fundraiser each year, Morgan Mill VFD sends out postcards to all landowners in their jurisdiction letting them know about the fundraiser and providing a QR code to accept donations. They raise a nice bit of funds just through the postcard.

 

In his time with Morgan Mill, he has worked every year on the auction, which serves as the department’s largest fundraiser event.

 

Phil said, “We usually bring in more than $60,000 from the auction.”

 

About 20 years ago, Phil said the department started the event with just desserts and such.

 

“Everything's homemade,” Phil said. “I'm talking scratch with lard. All the good stuff that we like in the blood system.”

 

Some of the homemade desserts were selling for a thousand dollars apiece, according to Phil.

After he became the assistant chief about six years ago, he wanted to kick things up a notch and raise more money, in part to help with matching grant funds – he applies for them on behalf of the department – and in part to help build a new station for the community.

 

Why brisket?

 

“I had a lot of friends who were smoking meats at the time, and I was too,” Phil said. “I said, why don't we just get a bunch of briskets and see what those things will go for?”

 

Turns out, quite a lot.

 

“The first year we were averaging $1,500 per brisket, and some of those went for $2,500,” he said.

 

Now they typically auction off 10-15 freshly smoked briskets in addition to wide variety of homemade desserts – cakes, pies, cookies and more – plus the occasional painting, metalwork, or cowboy memorabilia.

“We average 65 to 70 items, we're averaging a thousand bucks a piece,” Phil said.

 

Morgan Mill VFD raised nearly $500,000 so far toward the cost of the new station, which Phil said is for the community.

 

“Because we take care of the community and they take care of us,” he said.

 

How does this auction go down and what can folks expect?

 

Phil said the event starts at 5:30 p.m. and they try to end by 9 p.m. because it’s an older community without a lot of night owls.

 

“We invite everybody in the community to have a meal at no cost to them. So, we provide that night's (catered) meal,” Phil said. “During dinner, we recognize our firemen that are there. We show some accomplishments, we show some videos, and this year we'll be having some drone videos of some recent large wildfires.”

 

Phil said they try to educate the public a little bit.

 

“We don't get into it very heavy because it's supposed to be a fun evening, we just try to say, this is where we're going. This is where we've been, and this is what we need help to continue to go.”

 

And then the fun starts.

 

The department hires a professional auctioneer, who Phil said is basically the evening’s entertainment.

 

“He is hilarious,” Phil said. “He's a really good auctioneer. He gets everybody involved and, he makes a show of it. He gets into it, and that's what makes the whole program go.”

 

The dinner and auction event takes place at the Morgan Mill Community Center, but at the new station, Phil said the department can hold the auction there and fit up to about 500 people.

 

What’s the craziest thing he can remember happening at one of these events?

 

“One year, after hearing about our need for a new fire house, an attendee stood up and said, “I’m writing a check for $50,000,” Phil recalled. “And then someone else stood up and said, “I’m giving you $25,000.”

 

He said people around the room gasped and applauded.

 

Phil said it’s an enjoyable night.

 

“There's a lot of camaraderie and, socialization that goes on and it's pretty well hammed up. It's our best fundraiser,” he said.

Registration is up and running for the TEEX 3^rd First Responder Summit: Electric Vehicles & Stored Energy. Below is the line up for next May’s event – 

• Eddie Murphy – US DOT Surface Transportation (not confirmed) 
• Captain Chris Pfaff – West Pierce County Fire & Rescue 
• Dalan Zartman – Co-founder of the Energy Security Agency, Ohio career firefighter
• Captain Patrick Durham – Troy Michigan FD, PE, founder of StacheD Training 
• Sean DeCrane – IAFF and lead researcher 
• Dr Sean Thompson – toxicologist and Deputy State Fire Marshal – Washington 
• Lance Bullard – TTI’s crash and bash expert

 

 

 

 

Episode 1 - Membership Drive

Episode 2 - Certification Changes

Episode 3 - PORTAL (which is our membership management program)

Episode 4 - Marketing Class (learn more about the course on our website.)

Episode 5 - Interview with author (and Battalion Chief) Dena Ali

Episode 6 - Interview with Wendy Norris of the Texas LODD Task Force

Episode 7 - Interview with Tom Merrill, author of The Professional Volunteer Fire Department

Episode 8 - A Chat with Chief Rick Lasky

Certification Update for November 2025:

 

SFFMA-TCFP Reciprocity Update

 

Individuals who start the TCFP certification process cannot then utilize the SFFMA reciprocity as a work-around. These individuals must comply with rules set forth and instructions communicated to them by TCFP for completion including but not limited to full retraining on the topic(s).

 

Please note that this is not a new policy.

 

TCFP has been very clear in their acceptance of the SFFMA Endorsement of Eligibility letters towards exam eligibility. Individuals starting the certification process with TCFP could not jump to the SFFMA program to attain an Endorsement of Eligibility to bypass any program stipulations that they have in place.

 

Austin staff have verified directly with TCFP that no leeway exists in this policy.

 

Questions or Problems? Please contact your Certification Coordinator or Zone Representative; they can answer your questions about testing and certification. Visit these web pages for additional info:

 

Certification Board

Certification Manual

Available Certifications (Includes links for Cancer Awareness, etc.)