Ladies and gentlemen, I just got back from New Orleans during the wee hours of Monday August 27. Steve Austin and I spent several days at the Fire Rescue International Conference, working with the International Association of Fire Chiefs to spread the word on highway safety issues. I would like to state for the record that a good time was had by all.
We were the beneficiaries of an excellent lobby location from the IAFC. It allowed us to display our impressive new Respondersafety.com convention booth to best advantage. This was our first full service use of our new, easy-to-assemble, state-of-the-art display unit.
A number of fine folks took time out of their busy schedules to assist us in staffing our booth. Many hours were spent passing out a wide array of highway safety literature. Jim Cubbage, Jon Townley, and Bob Edwards spent many hours spelling Steve and I at the booth. Mark McFall of the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and Jeff Dyer of the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) were also there to lend support.
If there was someone who was there that I missed, please accept my apologies now. There might have been others helping who were in the booth when Steve and I were out beating the bushes.
Steve Austin and I were fortunate enough to be asked to appear on the FETN local broadcast at noon on Saturday. We delivered an abbreviated version of the new PowerPoint program we created for our Respondersafety.com project. Our efforts were well received by the crowd in attendance. I was later informed that we might become part of a regular FETN presentation later this year.
Saturday afternoon found Steve and I delivering our seminar on Protecting Responders on the Highways to an overflow crowd at the convention center. We spoke about the history of the Cumberland valley Volunteer Fireman's Association, as well as the chronology of the Respondersafety.com effort.
It was our intention to share our traffic safety story with the audience and inform them of where we are, and where we want to go. A great deal of interest and enthusiasm came back toward us from the people who took time out to be with us. It was obvious to us that there is a real interest in the work we are doing.
There was a great deal of interplay between us as presenters, and the members of the seminar audience. I was particularly pleased with the things that Steve and I were able to learn from the many people in attendance. A number shared their sad stories with us. Others spoke of the efforts they had undertaken to begin addressing the problem of safety on their local highways. And Ed Mann, the Fire Commissioner of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania told us all about the new highway safety training program being developed in his state.
It became apparent to Steve and I over our three days at the convention center that we are in the early stages of a tremendously important effort. It seems as though many people have had the idea that safety related issues on the highway have been a problem many thought of as specific to their area. They found out that it is not.
Both Steve and I left New Orleans with a heightened sense of enthusiasm. I could not tell you how many people came up to us and offered their support for the highway safety effort. We are on a journey. And we invite you to join us.