On 30 April 2026 Firefighter I Michael “Mike” A. Goude received the 2026 Public Safety Officer of the Year Award (Volunteer Firefighter)
Mike initially joined the Odenton Volunteer Fire Company (OVFC) in January 2016 while in the US Army stationed at Fort Meade. He completed the initial training to qualify as a firefighter. However, he was deployed to Korea in early 2017 and resigned from the company. He was reassigned to Fort Meade in 2023 and re-joined OVFC in April 2023. He quickly completed refresher training and started responding to fire calls again. Mike then enrolled in the Emergency Medical Technician course (207 classroom hours) which he competed in May 2024. He is now fully certified as a Firefighter I and Ambulance Technician. Mike is one of our top responders. He was on duty for 1269 hours in 2025 and responded to 273 fire calls and 24 ambulance calls. Mike was also recently elected as our Membership Secretary on the Board of Directors, which is one of our most demanding administrative positions. Still wanting to help more, he is also on the following committees: Awards, Membership Retention, Quartermaster, Honor Guard, and Maps.
Firefighter Michael Goude is truly a very versatile and valuable member. He will be transitioning out of the Army soon and intends to remain a member for a long time.
If you wish to become a member of the OVFC please visit our membership page –> HERE.
