| On December 13th, 2008, the Officers and Members of the Ridge Volunteer Rescue Squad were looking sharp as they attended their 59th Annual Installation of Officers. The evening started with cocktails at 6:30 PM at the Knights of Columbus Hall located in Ridge, MD. At 7:00 PM, the Master of Ceremonies for the evening, Mr. Danny Raley, introduced himself and invited all to a wonderful dinner consisting of fried chicken, roast beef, fried oysters, green beans, corn, mashed potatoes and gravy, coleslaw, beets, pickles and dinner rolls. After eating all of that, the members and guests that still had room were offered a delightful orange sherbert. After the meal, MC Danny Raley continued with an introduction of all the guests in attendance and then Mr. Bobby Balta, Past President of the Maryland State Firemen's Association, inducted all incoming Administrative and Line Officers. The 2009 Officers are as follows:
President - Joseph Titus
Vice President - Amy Raley
Secretary - Paula Turner
Treasurer - Christy Bright
Board of Directors - Jannet Keister
Board of Directors - Jessica Titus
Board of Directors - Frances Ann Cullison
Board of Directors - Jack Cullison
Board of Directors - Paul Sullivan
Chief - George Gatton
Assistant Chief - Debbie Drury
Captain - Jannet Keister
Captain - Jessica Titus
Lieutenant - Michele Barickman
Lieutenant - Scot Best
Lieutenant - Christy Ridgell
Safety Officer - Rich Merrell
Chief Engineer - Leroy Owens
Engineer - Joe Greer
Engineer - Eddie Boswell
Special length of service awards were given to Dawn Moore with 5 years of service, Paula Turner with 15 years of service and Matt Durkin and Sandy Mahoney both with 25 years of service. And by a unanimous vote from the Membership at a previous meeting, it was decided to bestow Life Membership upon President Joseph Titus. He was surprised with a Life Membership Plaque and a standing applause from the attendees. Plaques were also given to the Top 10 Runners for the 2008 year. They are as follows:
• 10th Highest - Joe Greer with 70 calls
• 9th Highest - Jannet Keister with 75 calls
• 8th Highest - Scot Best with 76 calls
• 7th Highest - Michele Barickman with 89 calls
• 6th Highest - Christy Ridgell with 98 calls
• 5th Highest - Jack Cullison with 100 calls
• 4th Highest - Sandy Mahoney with 101 calls
• 3rd Highest - Frances Ann Cullison with 123 calls
• 2nd Highest - George Gatton with 145 calls
• Most Calls For The Year - Debbie Drury with 183 calls
This year, both the President's Award and the Chief's Award were presented to the entire Membership for their support during the year. The Membership was presented with 2 engraved clocks - one to be displayed in the Training Room and the other in the Meeting Room. The Rookie of the Year Award was presented to Damien Best and the Squad Member of the Year Award was presented to Sandy Mahoney.
The Officers and Members of the Ridge Volunteer Rescue Squad would like to thank the Knights of Columbus Belles for providing such a wonderful meal, the crew from the Lexington Park Volunteer Rescue Squad for providing a fill-in crew so that our members could enjoy the evening, Debbie Fairfax and Lisa Schumann for providing great bar-tending services, Danny Raley for providing us an outstanding MC for the evening, and Marsha Evans for providing photos. We look forward to another successful year in 2009! |
