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Comment by Matthew Cosgrove on May 19, 2008 at 2:56pm

I agree that there are 2 sides to every story but this is more common than you may think. I was going to be outed 3 years ago because I wanted to do more training. The dept was full of good ol' boys from the country. They wanted to just hangout and talk ... than go home. I was able to stick it out. Someone told me you can't change anything from the outside... Fast forward 3 years and I'm the training officer. It's all in how we go about things. I was going the wrong way but, with some guidence I was put on track and now we train 3 nights per months, plus a few Saturdays a year.
I'm sorry to hear about what happened to your friend but he will find his way back on someday. You may be able to help him find a loophole or just speak up for him, if you agree with him. Just do it in a differnt way. Good luck -Matt

Comment by Greg Pierce on May 18, 2008 at 9:53pm

I have seen it before, many times. I am not saying this is right, or endorsing it in any way. But the fact of the matter is that if personalities clash, no matter what the person brings to the table, the membership will think that the bad (personality conflict) far outweigh the good (Fund drive expert, EMT, "master firefighter") and would rather have him gone than reap any benefits. It sounds like a lot people didnt like him, if he was unable to gain the desired vote count to be let back in. There are 2 sides to every story, but it sounds like people thought he was more trouble than good. Welcome to the volunteer fire service, where winning elections and getting voted into membership a lot of times is nothing more than a popularity contest.