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Volume19 Issue02 The Rambler Colorado Fire Mechanics Association2018 EVT of the YearInside This IssueColorado is proud to announce that one of our members hasbeen selected as one of the 2018 EVT of the Year Awardwinners!PG. 2Jarrett has worked in the EVT field for 12 years. Prior toemergency vehicles, Jarrett worked at a Ford dealershipspecializing in drivability. He left the Ford dealership as aSenior Master Ford Technician looking to expand hisknowledge. He fully embraced the EVT curriculum and, inshort order, obtained Master Fire Apparatus Tech, MasterAmbulance Tech, and Master ARFF Tech. He was employedwith South Metro Fire Fleet Services for around 9 years.Jarrett left the South Metro to develop a brand-new fleetdivision out in Elbert County. (Continued on Page 3)PG. 4The Chairman’s Corner: Highlights of 2018PG. 32018 EVT of the Year Continued Vice Chairman’s HighlightsVendor InformationImportant ContributorsPG. 5Vendor InformationUpcoming EventsPG. 6Vendor Information

The Chairman’s CornerChris Nelson: ChairmanI was asked to write up a highlight reel of accomplishments for2018. We reviewed the bylaws of the organization tomodernize the document. It had been almost 2 decadessince the last revisions. Things like job descriptions,committee structures, and overall goals were clarified. I attended the Colorado Fire Chiefs Conference last fallin order to work towards bringing us back closer to theChiefs’ Association. There I listened to several folksregarding training needs for their mechanics. I alsotalked with many vendors about upcomingopportunities for us to work together in the future. Last year’s academy was a great success due to theefforts of many. Our academy coordinator, educationcommittee, and Aims college personnel workedtirelessly to put together a nice package of training.The sponsors our vender committee brought togetherwere essential. Early this year I went to the EVT CertificationCommittee meetings with some goals in mind for freshmaterial to offer up at this academy. Look for that inthis year’s academy course lineup. I spoke with someother old- timers about the evolutions of their StateAssociations and the issues that they have much likeissues that we have. Those networking opportunitiesare priceless. At the conference, one thing I did learn is we havequite a few technicians that are certified, more than Ihad realized. However, compared to other states, weare still way behind. I would like to see us increase ournumbers and broaden our reach.The largest of my goals was to involve more people in theCOFMA. The goal was to spread out the association tasksto the members themselves and encourage participation incommittee work. There is also a few of us that are gettingolder and soon moving on to other commitments (camping,fishing, etc.). There needs to be new young blood comingon to take the reins. I am honored to work with the peoplethat are pulling together to make this all work. Encourageyour co-workers, come to trainings, get yourselvescertified, and never be afraid to ask for advice.**Contact Us!FaceBook:Colorado Fire Mechanics@COFMA1987Website: : 303-907-0167Volume19 Issue02 The Rambler Colorado Fire Mechanics Association2

2018 EVT of the Year (cont )(From pg 1 .) Fire departments outside of largeorganizations have extremely limited options when itcomes to fleet maintenance. Some departments neverservice their vehicles. Other jurisdictions do the best theycan with local automotive shops.Along with providing much needed repairs, Jarrett alsotakes the time to educate his customers on repairs made aswell as steps they can take to better maintain theirvehicles while they are in use. He treats every departmentwith respect and answers all inquiries as quickly aspossible. Whether a department has 2 vehicles in theirfleet or 25, Jarrett works with them to determinenecessary repairs and maintenance schedules.Some vehicles came into the shop with extensivemaintenance deficiencies. It was only a matter of timebefore one of these vehicles experienced a catastrophicfailure. Jarrett's knowledge, dedication, and attention todetail makes these departments and our streets safer. Thecommunity benefits in a huge way from these repairs. Notonly were injuries and accidents avoided, but the financialsavings of preventative maintenance as opposed to thecost of replacing entire vehicles is considerable.Diversified Body & PaintBarbara Wolfe: Marketing ManagerWhen you have a vision and a dream, you don’t runfrom it, you build it! That was exactly what late ownerMark Gibson did when he started painting hoods in hismother’s garage. Thirty years later, Diversified Bodyand Paint Shop, Inc. has grown into everythingbusiness owner Steve Wolfe has imagined possible.With help from our hardworking team of employees andour wonderful customers that have stood by us all theseyears, we are making another dream a reality.Diversified Body & Paint, Inc is pleased to announcesome very exciting and BIG news! We will be movingto a new location this coming year! Construction on ournew building has already started. We look forward tothe new possibilities this building brings for ourcustomers! Here is a sneak peak of our first conceptdrawing!**Jarrett stepped in as the Colorado Fire MechanicsAssociation's 2018 Academy Coordinator. He spendscountless hours developing, planning, and organizing.Some of his duties include: locating instructors,advertising classes, contacting students, designingpamphlets, and setting up classrooms. He does all of thisto offer students and instructors the best learningexperience possible. Jarrett fulfills these AcademyCoordinator responsibilities free of charge and in his sparetime.Jarrett demonstrates professionalism and dedication ineverything he does. His passion and desire to educate andhelp future EVTs is evident through his daily words andactions. For Jarrett, teaching and learning are dailyactivities that improve and motivate him to go onfighting the good fight. Jarrett is driven to give his allevery day because he loves his job and wants to share itwith anyone willing to learn.**Volume19 Issue02 The Rambler Colorado Fire Mechanics Association3

Vice Chairman’s HighlightsKen Roland: Vice ChairmanSome of us have a hard time dealing with change,while to others, it’s no big deal. However, change,no matter how frowned upon at times, is what’sneeded to keep improving. The ColoradoEmergency Vehicle Technicians’ Association andthe Colorado Fire Mechanics’ Academy are noexceptions to this. Many people have come to meand expressed that they have noticed andappreciated the changes that they are seeing!The Academy being moved from North Metro Fireto Aims Public Safety Institute was a difficult, butessential move. Moving to Aims will allow theAcademy to continue to grow and thrive for theforeseeable future. Exceptional attention to detailand dedication from staff helped us establish afoundation for future academies to build on.An emphasis has been placed on working togetherthe State Fire Chiefs. Our goal is to communicatebetter and make sure that both groups know thedesires and needs of the other.We are grateful to North Metro Fire for theirhospitality and for the use of their facilities thelast few years.Thanks to Chris Nelson and Randy Souther formaking the move to Aims a reality!Thank you to Jarrett Hill, instructors andstaff, for making the 2018 Academy the successthat it was!Thank you to Kent Coker for his instrumentalrole in helping us work with the State FireChiefs. making this happen.Vendor UpdatesJeannie Schneiderwent: Vendor CoordinatorWe are also making concerted efforts to incorporatea variety of training topics into our quarterlymeetings. We will still have refresher trainings, butthe goal is to keep members interested. I urge you toreach out to us through whatever mode you choose:FaceBook, email, phone, etc. and let us knowwhat your interests and/or needs are.As we gear up for the 2019 Academy, we would like totake this time to thank all of our past participatingvendors. We would not be able to make this eventhappen if we didn't have such a strong presence fromour dedicated vendors. We greatly appreciate you, andwe look forward to networking again this yearThanks everyone for your contributions andcontinued support. You’ve all made it possible forus to accomplish things we’ve said we needed to dofor a while.**This year we will be allowing Vendors to set up at 10am the morning of the event. We hope this gives moretime for interaction and helps reduce stress. Moredetails are on the website, so go check it out!The 2019 Vendor application is available on thewebsite, and we encourage everyone to register early.are Please feel free to reach out with any questions orconcerns.Looking forward to another successful Academy!**Volume19 Issue02 The Rambler Colorado Fire Mechanics Association4

Upcoming Events:April Quarterly MeetingApril 24th 2019Lunch Provided By: Quality TireSponsored By: Diversified Body & PaintWest Metro Fire Training Facility3535 S Kipling St, Lakewood, CO, 80235COEVTA 2019Aug 12 – Aug 16, 2019Aims Community College Windsor Campus1130 Southgate Dr, Windsor, CO, 80550January's fire mechanics meeting was held atRattlesnake Fire's Training Center. SomeValvoline and Offen Petroleum representativescame out and taught a class about Lubrication& Engine Oils, Coolant, & Used Oil Analysis.(Picture Below) They provided us withdelicious Chipotle for lunch. Thank you!Follow Link to January’s Meeting Minutes!Volume19 Issue02 The Rambler Colorado Fire Mechanics Association5

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