All Blog Posts Tagged 'recruitment' (22)

Joining Forces

What started out as a vision for connecting soldiers with the volunteer fire service for what I thought was simply just a good recruitment idea --- has evolved into a passion for fulfilling what I believe is an obligation and an opportunity to save lives by offering returning veterans a step-down and reintegration process they desparately need.

Learn more about my vision in this article published in the March-2012 edition of Fire-Rescue Magazine and let me know your…

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Added by Tiger Schmittendorf on March 25, 2012 at 10:54pm — No Comments

Bunk-In or Just Bunk?

I stumbled across a new resource recently that caught my attention: FDLiveIn.com.

The concept of fire station live-ins or bunk-ins, depending on what you call them, has been around for quite some time and with quite a bit of success. Different departments run their programs in different ways but the common theme is that the firefighter lives in the fire station “rent-free” in return for volunteer…

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Added by Tiger Schmittendorf on February 7, 2011 at 11:26am — 3 Comments

Recruitment Effort Goes Statewide in NY

The Recruitment and Retention Committee of FASNY is promoting the concept that every volunteer fire department in New York State open its doors to prospective members on April 9 and 10, 2011.

More than just a plea for common sense collaboration among departments, FASNY put their money where their mouth is by creating planning and marketing tools to help FDs leverage the impact of the statewide campaign and make their local efforts…

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Added by Tiger Schmittendorf on January 11, 2011 at 10:00am — No Comments

@FireRECRUITER: Make the Right Investments

FROM FireRECRUITER.com:

I typically reserve my commentary type articles for my flagship site but I think it's appropriate to divest from that practice for the purpose of this post.

The following article tells of a small city that is threatening to stop collecting a voluntary public donation that has brought thousands and thousands of dollars in…

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Added by Tiger Schmittendorf on May 24, 2010 at 11:44pm — No Comments

It's EMS Week: Roll With It!

In honor of EMS Week 2010 - I present to you: Roll With It!

Read on, watch the video at www.firerecruiter.com

Added by Tiger Schmittendorf on May 19, 2010 at 9:17pm — No Comments

@FireRECRUITER: The Art of Speed-Recruiting

If you had just 30 seconds to convince someone why they should join your volunteer fire department, what would you…

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Added by Tiger Schmittendorf on March 18, 2010 at 8:00am — No Comments

Run-to-the-Curb: Chief John Buttino

I just posted a new story about a Run-to-the-Curb type kid who rose to the rank of chief in his fire department.

Just as good as the story is are the great photos John has to go with it. I wish I had some photos of my younger years in the fire service, but thank God I have my Log Book to remind me of all the action and the good times we've…

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Added by Tiger Schmittendorf on March 11, 2010 at 8:00am — 8 Comments

LIVE: Casting a Net on Recruitment and Retention Challenges

UPDATE: 3/10/10 - Apparently we had some confusion on our end as to the start time of the Netcast. It will start at 9pm EST. Hope you can join us. Thanks.

I'm proud to have been asked by FireCritic and FireDaily to participate as a special guest on a live talk show via the web at…

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Added by Tiger Schmittendorf on March 10, 2010 at 11:27am — 2 Comments

@FireRecruiter: Great News---SAFER Application Period Extended

DHS has revisited the existing policy on supplanting for the 2009 SAFER funding cycle. The Secretary has decided that DHS will consider petitions for waivers on supplanting from 2009 grantees on a case-by-case basis and under certain conditions.

In order for all potential applicants to have sufficient time to consider this revised policy guidance, DHS will extend the 2009 SAFER application period. The new application deadline will be 5:00 p.m., Eastern Time, Friday, January 15,… Continue

Added by Tiger Schmittendorf on December 17, 2009 at 11:24pm — 2 Comments

@FireRECRUITER.com: VFDs Get Creative About Attracting Recruits

This blog links to an article from the Post Star in Northern New York State which outlines some of the creative steps their fire departments are taking to attract new members.

http://firerecruiter.wordpress.com/2009/12/15/vfds-get-creative-about-recruiting/

Added by Tiger Schmittendorf on December 15, 2009 at 12:00pm — No Comments

Run to the Curb!

What kid doesn't want to be a firefighter? Every time they hear a siren or see a fire engine race by, they run to the curb to see what's going on. I call them "Run to the Curb" type kids.

I was one of those kids and I bet you were one too. It's something you never grow out of --- and many of us chose to grow into it.

"RuntotheCurb.com" is a work-in-progress blog and… Continue

Added by Tiger Schmittendorf on November 29, 2009 at 12:00pm — 3 Comments

RECRUITMENT TOOLKIT: The Value of the Prospective Member Guide

What kind of documentation did you receive when you joined your fire department? Was it thorough, clear, and concise? Did it answer all of your questions about what would be expected of you or did it leave you wondering with information unclear?

Was the information well organized and presented or was it scribbled on a bar napkin over a couple of “pops” at the firehouse.

Other than the application, was there any documentation at… Continue

Added by Tiger Schmittendorf on November 28, 2009 at 12:30pm — No Comments

TAKE THE POLL: What's Your biggest recruitment and retention challenge?

Recruiting New Members?
Retaining Existing Members?
Getting our Leaders to Realize that We Need to Do Something about our Recruitment and Retention Challenges?

Take this poll at www.firerecruiter.com:
http://firerecruiter.wordpress.com/2009/11/24/whats-your-biggest-challenge

Added by Tiger Schmittendorf on November 27, 2009 at 7:30pm — No Comments

Is this our best approach?

From: www.tigerschmittendorf.com

I’ve read and watched this news clip from the NY Daily Dispatch about how training requirements in New York State are hurting the volunteer fire service: http://www.weny.com/News-Local.asp?ARTICLE3864=9148872

Unfortunately, I think it follows a growing pattern of articles and news pieces that focus on the problems – and not… Continue

Added by Tiger Schmittendorf on November 21, 2009 at 3:18pm — 16 Comments

From the X-Box to the Box Alarm

As I travel around the country talking with other firefighters, a commonly recurring theme of our chat is the future of the volunteer fire service.

The conversation always comes around to the topic of today’s firefighters and the next generation of firefighters. Some “more experienced” firefighters (notice I didn’t use the term older) share that they don’t understand the “kids” coming into the fire service today.

The veterans don’t think today’s recruits share the same… Continue

Added by Tiger Schmittendorf on September 6, 2009 at 11:00pm — 9 Comments

Fortune Tellers

In my last blog titled “Dig In.” I talked about the importance of story telling in the fire service and how it serves as a means of sharing experiences, traditions and values from generation to generation. In this article I try to tell a story, and in that story, I hope you can find a lesson to share for generations to come.

Almost every firefighter I meet speaks of how they always knew, from the time… Continue

Added by Tiger Schmittendorf on September 6, 2009 at 10:22pm — 6 Comments

What if you had a fire…and no one came?

By Lou Angeli

They are the folks who leave behind family and home at a moment’s notice to help a neighbor or other any person in need. That’s the story of 800,000 Americans who serve as fire-rescue volunteers. Until recently, it was a story that brought pride and inspiration to 80% of the communities in this nation. But times have changed and what was once America’s greatest emergency asset is suffering from a variety of setbacks.

A generation ago, when the fire… Continue

Added by Lou Angeli on March 13, 2009 at 11:41am — 8 Comments

Christmas Comes Early for Kentucky FD

I’m sure we’ve all heard, and maybe even experienced, how the world is “getting smaller every day.” There’s probably no other place that this phrase is truer than in the fire service.

The more we dare to explore outside of our engine room doors, the more we find that there’s a brave new world out there full of firefighters who, despite their differences, are very similar to every one of us. A friend once told me that, in the end, it’s only… Continue

Added by Tiger Schmittendorf on December 18, 2008 at 10:25pm — 18 Comments

Recruitment & Retention Toolkit: Brotherhood

This article is one in a series of toolkits focusing on recruitment, retention, fire service marketing and leadership. It appeared in the August edition of FASNY's The Volunteer Firefighter magazine.

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Evans Center Chief Dennis Allen Demonstrates Brotherhood. Now He Needs Our Help.

Last month I said we’d take the summer… Continue

Added by Tiger Schmittendorf on August 22, 2008 at 1:28am — 4 Comments

Nothing Breeds Success Like Success Itself...

As I mentioned in a previous blog, you'll notice that all of our press releases end with a common theme: Recruitment.

We pounce at every opportunity to get our recruitment message out to our target audience.

As an effective means of both recruitment and retention, we write a press release to announce new additions to our team every time someone joins our fire company.

Written properly, these types of advertorials can breed real success.

Hopefully, it… Continue

Added by Tiger Schmittendorf on May 26, 2008 at 12:46am — 8 Comments