EPHRATA-- Firefighters from Grant County Fire District 13 gathered Saturday night to recognize the achievements of its members in 2008.  The banquet was held at the Moose Lodge and was geared towards saying thank you to the volunteers that have made Dist. 13 function on a day to day basis.  "This is a great way to say thank you to our volunteers who put in over 3,000 volunteer hours in 2008," said Chief Shane Heston.

Amongst those honored was Captain Russ Hersh who has now retired from District 13 as he has taken a full time Captain/Mechanic position with Grant County Fire District 10/11.  Captain Hersh had a hand in building a majority of the apparatus that are used today. 

Captain Hersh started with District 13 in July of 1997.  In April of 2007 Captain Hersh became district 13's first part time paid employee when he was hired as Dist. 13's  mechanic.  With Captain Hersh gone that role has now been filled by Jim Stucky formerly of Grant County Fire District 3.  Captain Hersh was recognized at the banquet for his long service to the district and his hard work which has assisted in helping improve District 13.  Everyone at GCFD 13 would like to wish Captain Hersh the best of luck and we thank him for his service.

Nine other firefighters were honored for their service during 2008.  The winners include:  Rookie of the Year- Greg Geer, Top Responder- Mike Campbell, Hydrant Award- Brian Black, Chief's Award- Mike Campbell, Flame Awards-Todd Hufman, J.J. Heston, Nathan McDonnell and Jack Zeilenga, Firefighter of the year- Carl Chilson.   These  firefighters have demonstrated a dedication to making District 13 better.  They have truly gone above and beyond responding to calls and have used there skills to continue to improve the district's ability to better serve its residents. 

In addition to the awards volunteers were treated to a  presentation from guest speaker Brian Schaeffer, the Assistant Fire Chief of the Spokane Fire Department.  Chief Schaeffer provided volunteers with a presentation on customer service.  This presentation's objective was to enable volunteers to better serve the citizens of our district.  The presentation was well received by the volunteers and provided a new perspective and approach to serving our residents.  Grant County Fire District 13 would like to thank Chief Schaeffer for his time and professional presentation.