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UVFD holds banquet
Posted: Thursday, Jan 17, 2008 - 09:07:50 am CST
by Margaret Palermo - Staff writer
 | | Gene Ayala |
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Uvalde Volunteer Fire Department's annual banquet Saturday night was a little light on member attendance with four of the top 12 new officers and two other active members, including the Fireman of the Year, off fighting a fire near La Pryor.
New Chief Gene Ayala, Vice President Rayne Kelley and Secretary Blake McDonald, with Juan Garcia and Daniel Perez were all at the La Pryor fire, which burned a reported 3,500 acres.
Additionally, outgoing Fire Chief Juan Zamora sent regrets that he would be out of town due to a death in the family. His son, Juan Zamora Jr., UVFD mascot, was also not present.
Ayala also missed the presentation of the Fireman of the Year Award by firefighter Jim Hanson, though Ayala's wife, Lisa Ayala, was present to accept the award on behalf of her husband.
Every year, we choose one as Fireman of the Year, but sometimes we have more than one who has gone beyond the call of duty, said Hanson. This year, it was difficult to select one gentleman as Fireman of the Year.
Nonetheless, the decision was made.
He has been in the fire department a number of years. He has gotten numerous awards for a number of years. He's not with us tonight. He's out fighting a fire, said Hanson. The Fireman of the Year award goes to Gene Ayala.
Sharon Fowler made a presentation for the Ladies' Auxiliary.
Tonight is an excellent example of the time the firemen give up with their families, she said, looking around at vacant seats in the Uvalde Country Club.
She said auxiliary members have tried for years to make up for family time lost when firefighters answer the call to go fight another fire.
One way to do this is to honor the children of firemen when they graduate from high school, Fowler said.
This year, the child has watched her brother as a fireman, her daddy as a fireman, her grandfather as a fireman. She was on the ladies' racing team and cheered for us even before that. She's very athletic.
Tonight we would like to honor Holli Williams by presenting her with a scholarship, Fowler said.
Firefighter Justin Schmidt gave the chief's report in the absence of Zamora.
Being a volunteer fireman requires a sacrifice – time away from families and jobs, he said. Last year, we responded to 216 calls. In addition, we also spent time in training.
Schmidt pointed out that firemen started 2008 by keeping with a tradition, albeit with a new twist. They took down the artificial Christmas tree downtown, although not in the usual spot on the Uvalde County Courthouse lawn near Judge Bill Mitchell's office.
In November, we tried to set up the Christmas tree in front of Judge Mitchell's office, said Schmidt. After protests from Texas Department of Transportation, which is doing construction in the area, the tree was set up at Briscoe Plaza instead.
The racing team placed first in the pumper races at the Winter Garden meeting in Brackettville, Schmidt said.
We appreciate our families who are always there for us and all the people who support us with prayers and donations, he said.
Patrick Williams, who was installed as president of UVFD this year, took over from Schmidt.
I've been in the department 12 years and I've noticed a trend, and that trend is that we're not responding to as many fires as we used to, Williams said. In 1987, we responded to 367 fires. We were fighting one fire every day. In 2007, we've dropped to 216. That's great!
As firemen, we enjoy fighting fires, but we enjoy spending time with family and friends. We're down to half a fire a day, he said, adding that the reduction in fire calls gave firemen more time for their families, friends and jobs.
What caused the drop? he asked. It's due to fire safety and education, but it's also due to the public paying attention to what's going on in their neighborhood, he said. Uvalde hasn't gotten smaller. He said he attributes the reduction to the community's efforts to pay more attention to fire safety.
Williams said the community's willingness to install smoke detectors in their homes and to test the batteries regularly has made a difference.
Gilbert Ayala presented special awards for number of fires covered and number of training sessions attended. Gene Ayala got first place, with Chris Potter, second, and Todd Dorris, third. The first- and second-place winners' awards were presented to them in absentia, since Potter was with Ayala in La Pryor.
New officers for 2008 are Gene Ayala, chief; Juan Zamora, first assistant chief; Richard Williams, second assistant chief; Todd Dorris, third assistant chief; Patrick Williams, president; Rayne Kelley, vice president; Blake McDonald, secretary; Gilbert Ayala III, secretary; Jim Hanson and Jimmy Dalrymple, fire police; Paul Stephens, chaplain and publicity director; Juan Hernandez, athletic director; Todd Dorris, Rayne Kelley and Gene Ayala, training officers; and Juan Zamora Jr., mascot.
The 2008 board of directors includes Justin Schmidt, Jim Hanson, Juan Hernandez, Neal Brewster and Justin Deorsam. The pension board includes Rodney Deorsam, Chris Potter and Paul Stephens.
Active members include Roy Joe Howard, who joined the department in 1964; Jim Hanson, 1967; Richard Williams, 1970; Jim Dalrymple, who was a member from 1975 to 1995, then joined again in 1998 and has been a member ever since; Rodney Deorsam, 1981; Chris Fowler, 1981; and Neal Brewster, 1983.
Active members also include Chip King, 1985; Bryson Dalrymple, 1989-90, 1993-94 and 2003 to present; Tom Brewer, 1991-1999 and 2002-present; Chris Potter, 1993-95 and 1997-present; Todd Dorris, 1994-98 and 2000-present; Patrick Williams, 1995; Paul Stephens, 1995; and Lindsey Hooper, 1995.
Also on the active member list are Juan Hernandez, 1996; Juan Zamora, 1996; Will Dalrymple, 1997-98 and 2001-present; Gene Ayala, 1998; Juan Garcia, 1998; Justin Deorsam, 2001; Justin Schmidt, 2003; Emanuel Zamora, 2004; Blake McDonald, 2004; Rayne Kelley, 2004; Gilbert Ayala III, 2005; and Daniel Perez, 2006.
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