Eastern Kings Meeting Place

The Communities of Eastern Kings
Prince Edward Island

Souris volunteer firefighter earns medal for 40 years of service with department

Provincial Fire Marshal David Blacquiere,
left, presents Souris firefighting veteran
Sterling MacDonald with a service medal
for 40 years of outstanding volunteer
service with the Souris Fire Department,
at the department’s annual awards dinner.
Guardian photo
BY NANCY WILLIS
The Guardian
November 30, 2007
SOURIS — Volunteer firefighters in rural areas like Souris are a rare breed of individuals who are willing to put their lives on the line without monetary reward for the people of their communities.
Some of those outstanding men were honoured recently at the Souris Fire Department’s annual awards dinner, where the squad’s 30 members and their families, along with representatives from neighbouring departments, turned out to pay tribute.
This year’s dinner saw veteran firefighter Sterling MacDonald receive his service medal from provincial Fire Marshal David Blacquiere for an outstanding 40 years with the department.
Squad member Robin Croucher was awarded his Level I training certificate, while Fire Chief Colin Lavie and firefighter Donnie Aitken were voted Volunteers of the Year for always going the extra distance.
Souris Mayor Joanne Reid congratulated the award winners and the department as a whole.
“This past year I have realized just how important volunteers are to the community, and our volunteer firefighters are at a whole other level again,” she said.
Lavie said 2007 was a busy year for his men, with numerous fires, training sessions, meetings and fundraising events. This year also marked the successful completion of a smoke house training facility for the department after three years of fundraising efforts.
“We are encouraging neighbouring departments to use our smoke house to train their members,” said the chief.
The fire department expanded its roster from 25 to 30 members this year, in order to always have a full complement of firefighters.
“We so often have individuals on courses or other training situations, and felt it was necessary to expand our numbers,” Lavie said.
He is pleased with the resulting mix of young recruits and older men that make up the department.
“I am very lucky to have each and every one as part of our team, and I thank them and their families as well for their commitment,” said Lavie.
Copyright
Waldron H. Leard

ekpei.ca
Community Services
e-mail