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Breaking It Down: New Member Announcement

Keeping with my theme of “Treat every public interaction as a public service, public education, public relations, AND a recruitment opportunity,” a new member announcement can have a positive impact on your recruitment and retention efforts. Young Blood: Newton Abbott ...

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NEW RECRUITS: Buyer Beware!

In my recruitment and retention related conversations and classes, I ask the pointed question: “What takes longer, getting good people into your fire department — or getting the bad ones the heck out?” Almost everyone acknowledges the latter response with ...

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Reporter Takes Test Drive of Firefighter Training

Check out this reporter’s experience as he dons a firefighter’s gear and learns about the life of a volunteer. Training shows reporter how much volunteer figherfighters deal with: http://journalstar.com/news/local/article_23a66580-50c4-11df-b21a-001cc4c03286.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

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A Touch of Gray

As I wrote in "From the X-Box to the Box Alarm" --- This demo includes settled homeowners; their kids are growing to an age of independence; focused on giving back; perhaps even looking for an outlet – or just an excuse to get out of the house.

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REVIEW: 10 Step Guide to Volunteering

And while I think the author is right on the mark that prospective candidates should do their homework before signing on the dotted line, I disagree with emphasizing and entering fundraising into the conversation so early. There are too many other positive parts of our business that could be used to highlight the benefits of volunteering. Fundraising is one of those functions that some volunteers must do when they're not doing what they signed up to do -- fighting fires and providing emergency services.

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X-Box Firefighters

I wrote a magazine article for FASNY’s The Volunteer Firefighter titled: “From the X-Box to the Box Alarm” that addresses today’s generation of firefighters and firefighter candidates. Given recent news articles and discussions, I think it’s relevant to revisit and ...

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