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Appreciation Banquets how to?
I was elected Asst. Chief last December and since then been gathering information,and pictures of and about our members. I would like to put together a nice appreciation banquet for them for all the time they have put in this past year. They have taken training to a new level and moral is higher than it has been in years. I just want to try and keep them motivated and what better way then to show them some appreciation. The question is how to or what? Guest speakers, who? Awards, what and how would you go about deciding who gets what?
I could keep it simple but that is what was done in the past and the only ones that got any recignition were retitering officers. I want to do somthing for the guys out there getting it done because I feel I have a good group of guys behind me and they are deserving of it. What I am looking for is some advice and or ideas from those that would be greatfull to have the officers of their company show them some appreciation.
I could keep it simple but that is what was done in the past and the only ones that got any recignition were retitering officers. I want to do somthing for the guys out there getting it done because I feel I have a good group of guys behind me and they are deserving of it. What I am looking for is some advice and or ideas from those that would be greatfull to have the officers of their company show them some appreciation.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by T.J. on
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First of all I'd like to tell you that this is a great thing your doing and it sounds like you've got your guys headed in the right direction. Way to go brother!
We do a yearly banquet too.
We have a guest speaker and he has to have something to do with fire, wether it be a fire marshall, big city fire chief, someone from your state fire association, law, ems, gas company owner and the list goes on. Make sure his speech is no longer than a half hour or guys will get bored.
We do a firefighter of the year and this mainly goes to the guy with the most training that year, and fire medic of the year for the most involved in medical calls, we give an award to firefighters for 5, 10, 15, 20 years of service and so on. We do an award "hoser award" for the guy that did the funniest or dumbest thing that year. It's a real fun award and you don't want to be the one recieving the hoser award.
Let me think so more and I'll get back to you.
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Permalink Reply by anne potter on
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Take the pics and put them on a dvd then while people are coming in have it playing .. Put music to it... Plaques are always nice also..... Invite close friends and family...
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Permalink Reply by Jenny Holderby on
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What Anne said and make them a copy of the DVD as well. If you look me up on Myspace, I have some pretty good music on there that FFs like. I am MULady1337@yahoo.com on myspace. Ok, well THIS fire fighter likes them.
Are you asking for advice on the banquet or the awards?
My advice if you can afford it is to have your event catered. That way NOBODY is worrying about the food. What you serve isn't as important as how it is presented but a good menu will be appreciated.
Hold your function AWAY from your station & put your mutual aid companies on alert so your guys don't have to run out in the middle of dinner. Besides, their families will want to be there and not leaving them stranded would be nice. Print up a nice invitation that they can give their families to get them excited about it too. Don't be picky about the seating let them sit where they want to sit or if you have an issue with that (you might depending on if you have cliques) put a couple of officers @ each table & mix them up so people who wouldn't normally sit together does. OR
Here, there are a couple of places like Ponderosa & Golden Corral that have banquet rooms and they welcome functions like this. A place like this enables everyone to eat together @ a buffett and then you can get down to business and you don't have to worry about details or cleaning up. The purpose of your night is to appreciate people and have them enjoy themselves.
Invite the Mayor or city council or trustees. A speaker is a nice touch too. Someone they respect or in a position of authority in the fire service or the town. Tell them how proud you are of your firefighters & give them some statistics to incorporate in their talk.
Don't forget about the kids. Particularly little ones. They put coloring placemats & crayons on tables in resturants for a reason. Some might elect to get a sitter but some will want their kids with them. If you have a LOT of kids in the station consider having a table(s) just for them & someone/people to supervise so they can enjoy the event too. Enlist someone to help, the Auxiliary if you have one or a group that supports the FD. You could even ask community members to assist. They love to help & they can be there to watch what's going on & share a meal with their heros.
Present something to EVERY fire fighter from the new recruit to the Chief. Everybody gets the same thing. They don't all have to be exactly alike but similar. A few years ago we made Christmas ornaments with the station number & maltese crosses on them for each family for our Holiday Dinner / awards night. It can be just some sort of little gift. Once we had ceramic bears dressed in FF outfits. Take a sharpie & put the date on the bottom of somthing like that. Wives & daughters really like that kind of thing. I don't know your budget but I find nice little knick knacks like these at the Dollar General or Family Dollar that are cute, nice to keep & inexpensive.
Certificates are easy to make on the computer and they do mean a lot. I have one framed & change it out when I get a new one from the department. Those will be personal and you would be surprised where they are hung with care & pride.
Just a few ideas on awards: Service pins are really nice. We give them in 5 yr increments. Ties are something they can wear with their uniform or any other time as well. Tie tacks/bars are really popular too. You might consider decals for their helmets or vehicles. There are any number of items that are appropriate. At my "real" job they gave us clocks a couple of years ago with the university/library logo on them. (they are basic clocks the logo across the bottom is a decal they are nice & not too expensive) Last year they gave us little gizmo that is a clock/thermometer/calendar/pencil holder. They were not expensive but nice. Coffee cups, mouse pads, pens, keychains, ANYTHING with your logo or slogan on it that they can keep. You can Google just about anything. For you bigger awards like Officer of the year or FF of the year you could consider a baseball style jacket with your logo that says what the award is & personalize it with their name & the year. Plaques are nice too or trophies.
Take pictures of each fire fighter receiving their award. Find someone who takes decent pics with a digital camera. Casual shots make good memories. Post them on your website or make a CD of them for everyone. They can print the ones they like or use them as wallpaper or screen savers.
The possibilities are endless and they WILL be appreciated. Good luck and have a great time.
Jen
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Permalink Reply by Jay on
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We have yearly awards, which all are selected by a committee and all the nominees are nominated by their peers. What we do is we have a ballot with the awards that are to be given along with a blank underneath. People are to write who they want to nominate then the committee researches the nominees to see who is best suited. Some awards are; Firefighter of the Year, Officer of the Year, EMS of the Year, Community Service Award, and so on. Each of the awards are given to one paid and one volunteer firefighter (such as Volunteer Firefighter of the Year and Career Firefighter of the Year). Until recently we used to give out recognition awards for call volume percentage. Just last year we started giving bars, or ribbons, for the various awards. Like Jenny, we also give out service pins in 5 year increments. We also have different forms of "entertainment" each year. Last year we had a Guitar Hero competition for a gift certificate. It was judged on costume, accuracy, and overall hilarity. It was great fun.
Committees help out a bunch, takes a little pressure off!
Good luck, Stay safe!
Jay
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I forgot about entertainment and door prizes.
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Permalink Reply by Dennis Brown on
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BEER BEER AND MORE BEER LOL All the post on here are grate to do but just you letting the guys know how you feel about all the suport you got and how you appreciat them.will keep moral up and Chief job well done .
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Fantastic.. Yea music is nice... Should do well my friend alot of good advise
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Permalink Reply by Fire Capt. 1304 on
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We do an awards banquet in january for the previous year example january 2009 will be 2008's appreciation dinner. We do it this way because throughout the year we watch each other and if anybody does anything funny or wierd we get them gag gifts. I was given a pair of firefighter pajamas because I showed up for a fire in my pajama pants. We also vote in december for firefighter, emt, rookie, and water emergency team member of the year and the award is given at that dinner. We also give out service awards like T-shirts and hooded sweat shirts even gift certificates for dinner for two and a night stay at a hotel of the winners choice. We have dinner catered in and we do music and dancing after the awards. We always have a really good time and it seems to help moral and keep people happy.
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Permalink Reply by Eric on
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My department does a yearly banquet. Remember, this is to offer the appreciation to the guys and gals that give up their time, blood, sweat and tears, in many cases for free. This is the guaranteed payment for that. I know that saving people, serving the community and helping people in a time of need are also a huge reward and I would never take away from that. It is good to also be recognized for those actions. That being said, I will put on here, some of what we do (be advised that we are a relatively small budget, volunteer department). First we have members volunteer for the committee that will be putting it together. Next, that committee picks out some places of interest to have the dinner. Eventually, one is picked from that list. The committee decides on an appreciation gift that everyone receives. It doesn't have to be expensive, but should not be too cheap. The committee also establishes a list, that includes all members, village officials, representatives from local fire departments, a rep from our local rescue squad and police department. This usually shows your members that there are many local people supporting what they are doing. We give a firefighter of the year award, a distinguished service award and award members with new "serving since ____" placards for their uniforms. Awards are decided by members and we have printed our own award nomination sheets that are turned in anonymously, that request why the member is deserving of the selected award. Members also have the chance to be given other awards based on extraordinary acts, from the department. Our department's last banquet, we actually gave medals to two of our villages police officers, another department's chief and an e.m.t, for saving two young boys who were trapped in a residence, while it was on fire. They each risked themselves to save those kids. Anyway, there is an occasional guest speaker, usually a little slideshow with music and/or video (usually recapping that year's events). This can all be before or after the dinner and dessert. The end usually consists of drinks, dancing and a general good time. Of course, mutual aid is set up before hand to cover your district, so you'll have to make sure the date of you banquet doesn't conflict with mutual aid department functions. I hope that this helps, or at least offers some useful ideas.
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