#MiddleburyCT #MVFD #Awards
MVFD members and officers, l to r, Deputy Chief Michael von Kannewurff, Chief James Grohs, member Tom King, Past Chief Edward B. St. John and Deputy Chief Brian Shaban prepare to hand out the Chief Edward St. John Excellence Awards. These awards, new this year, are given from a fund established by St. John. (Marjorie Needham photo)
On March 29, the Middlebury Volunteer Fire Department (MVFD) held its annual awards dinner to thank and recognize the contributions of all its members and to highlight the top contributors to the department. Awards include top responders, past officers, and the Chief’s Award.
The highlight of this year’s awards ceremony was a new category of awards, the Chief Edward St. John Excellence Awards, sponsored by past Chief Ed St. John and recognizing the top engineer, EMS responder, fire fighter and officer from the past year. While most awards are granted by the current chief and officers, these award recipients are selected by an independent committee with selection criteria that focus on training, community participation, mentorship and emergency responses. Committee members are Tom King, Kevin Dawes and Brendan Browne. Each of the new awards includes $1,000.
The department also recognized the top junior firefighter with the Hal Lynch Good Kid Award as well as the efforts of all the junior firefighters that support the department. This year, they also recognized several honorary members for their continued support of the department in a variety of non-firefighting activities.
Awards presented this year were:
Past Officers: Brett Kales, Chief; Nick Santos, Captain; Christina Kean, Lieutenant
The Chief’s Award: Joe Bernardi for heroic actions on a New Year’s Eve call.
Top Fire Responders: Robert Dawes, Chris Kovach, Morgan Kales, Mike McGauhan, Ryan Fahey
Top EMS Responders: Beverly Dassonville, Robert Kuehnle, Chris Kovach, Ryan Fahey, Justin Connery.
Top Training Participation: Brett Kales, Morgan Kales, Chris Kovach, Aaron Whitlock, Christian Kean.
Completion of FF1: Robert DeCosmo
The Hal Lynch Good Kid Award: Ciaran Flanagan
Chief Edward B. St John Excellence Awards
- Engineer: Mike McGauhan, who did not miss a week maintaining Rescue 1, responded to 146 fire calls and attended every MVFD meeting.
- EMS: Chis Kovach, who responded to 108 ambulance calls, 195 fire calls and attended 12 MVFD meetings and 16 drills.
- Fire Fighter: Chris Gilbertie, who responded to 120 fire calls, attended 15 MVFD meetings and participated in 15 drills.
- Officer: Mike von Kannewurff, who responded to 248 fire calls and 142 medical emergencies, attended 12 MVFD meetings and participated in 17 drills.
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