Speech at Badge Pinning Ceremony
On December 18th, I was honored to be asked to give the keynote address at Westlake’s Badge Pinning Ceremony. The purpose of the ceremony was to give recognition to those that became full members of the Westlake Fire Department and those who have earned a promotion. Here is the transcript of my remarks:
Honorees ... today is your day. Thank you for stepping up to serve our community, the community of Harris County Emergency Services District 47. Are you ready to receive your badges? But wait, first you must listen to the ESD guy speak for a while. Did they not tell you about that?
You may remember the late Paul Harvey. Paul Harvey was a news and commentary broadcaster. He was heard on radio stations all around the country. Locally, KTRH aired his fifteen minute show at 11:45 weekday mornings. He had that iconic mid-western voice with his methodical delivery.
Paul Harvey was not just merely a news giver. He told the story of the news, often painting a picture of the events so that the listener could feel that he or she was there when it happened. I wish that I could tell a story with the detail of a Paul Harvey. I'm too much of "just the facts ma'am" kind of person. But I'm working on it.
In 1978, Paul Harvey gave speech before the national convention of the Future Farmers of America. In that speech Harvey praised the efforts of farmers and noted how our lives are blessed due to the actions and hard work of farmers. You may have heard that speech, or at least parts of it. Here are a couple of excerpts from it:
God said, "I need somebody willing to get up before dawn, milk cows, work all day in the fields, milk cows again, eat supper, then go to town and stay past midnight at a meeting of the school board" So God made a farmer.
God had to have somebody willing to ride the ruts at double speed to get the hay in ahead of the rain clouds, and yet stop in mid-field and race to help when he sees the first smoke from a neighbor’s place. So God made a farmer.
Sound familiar? It was used on a Ram truck Super Bowl commercial a few years back. But I'm not here today to talk about Paul Harvey or farmers. I'm here to talk about fire fighters. I only mention this as a back story to the poem about fire fighters that I want to read in a bit.
As a take off from the "So God made a Farmer" poem, some thoughtful and creative folks lead by a Mr. Drew Byrd at the Summerville-Bunnlevel Fire and Rescue Company in North Carolina came up with this poem in the Paul Harvey style. While it mentions firefighters, many times the term EMT can be substituted in. I have it here ... (with a few embellishments). It begins:
After His day of rest, God looked down on Earth which He had created and said, " I need someone to protect my creation and save my children from disasters." So God made a firefighter.
God said, "I need someone who will leave their family and put their life on the line to save the life of someone that they have never met." So God made a firefighter.
God said, " I need someone who will put all of their fears aside and go put out the fire and flames at a neighbor's house or business to save what that person has worked all of his life for." So God made a firefighter.
God said, "I need someone strong enough to remove a husband and his wife from the tangled metal and steel of a moter vehicle accident and yet soft enough to pick up and comfort a scared, crying child that was unharmed in that same accident and tell that child everything is going to be OK. Mommy and Daddy will be fine." So God made a firefighter.
God said, "I need someone tough enough to tell a woman that the man she had been married to for over fifty years did not make it and not show any emotion even after performing CPR on him for over a solid hour. When everything is over and the crew is all done, cry his or her eyes out cause they feel like they could have done more for him." So God made a firefighter.
God said, "I need someone who no matter how busy, how sick, or how tired will put their personal priorities aside to answer the call of the dispatcher whenever the tones go off." So God made a firefighter.
God said, "I need someone who can drive trucks, pull hose, man tools, lift heavy loads, withstand excessive heat, and meet the Devil face-to-face and not be frightened. I'll heed their safety so that they can return home unharmed to their family members who would be lost without them." So God made a firefighter.
God had to have someone willing to work holidays and weekends, someone willing to miss his or her child's first steps or first words, grandma's birthday party, or the biggest game of the year in order for the community to be protected, all with little or no pay. So God made a firefighter.
Because the fire station will need an electrician, a plumber, a carpenter, a painter, a landscaper, a cook, and a janitor, God made a firefighter.
And because when word comes that the apparatus and equipment that should have been replaced two or three years ago will need to make do for a little longer as there is not enough money in this year's budget for new, God made a firefighter.
It had to be someone who could work as part of a team and take orders while inspiring the trust of others, It had to be someone willing to risk disease to help a stranger, and risk death to save lives on a freeway or in a burning structure with no reservations of his or her own safety. It had to be someone who would protect and serve, conquer and overcome, fear yet be fearless, sacrifice life and limb, and never accept failure. Someone who when the fire is out, or the wreck is cleared, or there is a return of the patient's self sustained pulse and they're off to the hospital goes back to his or her home, surrounds themself with family and smiles a big smile while fighting back the tears when their child looks up to them and says, "I want to be just like you when I grow up." So God made a firefighter.
So true those words, right? I hope that we here at Westlake are not in the category about making the equipment having to last a tad longer, but I'm sure that everyone found at least one item to identify with. This is why you folks are special. In this season of giving, you give, you give of yourself and never ask to receive.
I want to close in the Paul Harvey style, but before I do, again Honorees, thank you for stepping up. Today is your day. Folks, we have some cake and refreshments in the hallway and stay around for pictures and just maybe the rest of the story.
So in closing, I'm Commissioner Brian Havran ........ Good Day.
The biggest embellishment I made was to change the original wording from fireman to firefighter to made it gender neutral. Congratulations to those that were recognized today. Again a huge honor for yours truly.