With thanks to the Beatles (OK, Ringo) and the late, great Joe Cocker, that song has moved "mountains" when some couldn't even move "mole hills!" And that title rings true for many, if not most of us.  Of course, it also depends on our ability to discern those who are true friends from those people who are more acquaintances than friends. Often times though, that is difficult to do and it's not unusual for us not to want to make that distinction.
   We wanted to give our friends an opportunity to help us out from time to time, should they so desire. As many of you know, we are very interested in expanding what we do on "5-Alarm Task Force." That began last fall when we were cordially invited to attend the Great Florida Fire School in Ft. Myers FL, by our dear friend and mentor, Capt. Joe DeVito of the Ft. Myers Beach Fire Protection District. While there, we shot videos and photos, as well as recording audio clips from most of the classes and some attendees. Hopefully, you've visited its page here on our website to see what an excellent educational and social event it was. Thankfully, we've been invited to be there for this year's event in October.
   Along that same line, many of you have asked us if we are attending any of the major national conferences to do the same thing. We'd love to! To be at FIREHOUSE Expo, Fire-Rescue 2018, FIREHOUSE World or FDIC 2019 would be an excellent opportunity for us to not only promote "5-Alarm Task Force," but also to meet many new folks that we would be able to invite to be guests on the show. Additionally, we would indeed grab "on scene" interviews and sound bites that we would use both on an upcoming show and on our website. However, we're not affiliated with any one fire department and to be honest, we're not at a level that any of the hosts of these conferences are going to invite us to be there like the Great Florida Fire School did. But that doesn't mean we can't try, right?
   And this is where Patreon comes in. Patreon is a website where creators of all types of media can showcase their talent, be it music, art, photography or even podcasts, and where people who appreciate their work and want to encourage or support their efforts, are able to do so. A visitor to their page may make a one-time donation or become a patron and subscribe monthly or on a per item basis.
   Some of you may be asking, "Does that mean I have to pay you to listen to your podcasts now?" ABSOLUTELY NOT! The latest podcast, as well as our entire library will always be available to you right here on our website, on our podcast host, Podomatic's webpage Bit.ly/5-AlarmTFPodcast, and on iTunes, Google Play and Spotify, absolutely free!!! Patreon is simply a destination only if you would like to help us out or see works by others. There is no minimum and you may donate any amount you are comfortable with.
   To sweeten the "thank you" from us, we've posted a special reward: the first person to donate $100.00 will be invited to be our guest on an episode of "5-Alarm Task Force!" Additionally, we'll be creating a new page on  our-soon-to-be revamped website, where we will thank each contributor by name (or anonymously if so desired). We will not list the amount of the donation!
    To visit our Patreon page, click here and you will be taken there in a new browser window.
   Thank you for reading our blog. Thank you for visiting our website. Thank you for listening to "5-Alarm Task Force!"
   Stay Safe and God bless.
   Steve Greene