From September 6 through 10, 2022 the member companies of the Anne Arundel County Volunteer Firefighters Association (AACVFA) held its annual convention, commemorating 93-years of service to the citizens of Anne Arundel County and the City of Annapolis.
Representatives of the Odenton Volunteer Fire Company (OVFC) were present at each of the convention program activities during the week. The convention began with a Past Presidents Dinner, held on September 6, to honor the services of the men and women who have served as President of the Anne Arundel County Volunteer Firefighters Association or its Ladies Auxiliary. Past President’s from Odenton attending were Dave Lewis, Wylie Donaldson, Craig Harman, and Bob Rose. Patti Kidwell was a Past President of the Ladies Auxiliary and attended.
On September 7, the annual Memorial Service, held jointly with the Anne Arundel County Fire Department, recognized 37 members who passed away since the 2021 convention. A special recognition was also paid to the 19 volunteer and career firefighters who have died in the line of duty since records were maintained. Eight members from the fire company attended and participated in the sea of blue in honor of our deceased members. Three Ladies Auxiliary members were also in attendance.
The main event of the convention was the annual meeting of both the AACVFA and Ladies Auxiliary on September 9th. At the convention meeting, several OVFC members received prestigious awards. Past Chief Rob Loughrey was inducted into the AACVFA Hall of Fame for significant contributions to the volunteer fire service in Anne Arundel County. Danielle Chirillo was selected as the Greg Kroft Rookie of the Year, an award recognizing the contributions of new members at their very early stages of a volunteer career. The OVFC received the Jesse Fisher trophy with 6296 hours of training. This award recognizes the fire company that has dedicated the most hours to fire, rescue, or EMS related training during the year. The OVFC also received the booster ad trophy for collecting 497 boosters to help defray the cost of the annual convention book.
The convention concluded with an evening of celebration on September 10th with a Bull Roast event with several OVFC members attending. The evening offered an opportunity for social enjoyment for the services provided by the volunteer members across Anne Arundel County.
