Fire Association Honors Gelbaugh Family, Fireman Of The Year
September 16, 2022 at 2:13 a.m.
Fire Association Honors Gelbaugh Family, Fireman Of The Year
By David [email protected]
Association President Kevin McSherry said, “Our brother Roger (Gelbaugh) passed this last year and I’d like to have a member of his family come up. We have a thank-you plaque to the Gelbaugh family for borrowing Roger.”
Winona Lake Fire Chief Kevin Gelbaugh accepted the plaque on the family’s behalf.
Harold Gunkel, North Webster Fire Department, received the Kosciusko County Firefighters Service Award. He was nominated by the Sidney Fire Department.
“This service award is not only longevity, but it’s what you do in this period of time that you’ve signed up. And it is a big deal to have stuck it out,” McSherry said.
Gunkel has been in the fire service for 40 years, serving in many roles of the NWFD and his community. “His willingness to jump in and do whatever needs to be done has saved his department and his community drastically, both financially and physically. His experience and knowledge has been passed on to younger generations of firefighters and is always willing to teach anyone how to be better and how to get things done faster and safer for everyone,” McSherry said.
The Fireman of the Year Award went to Shade Keeney. McSherry said he wrote the letter for Keeney.
“He came to Seward Township Fire Department as a young man, and one of his first structure fires, he came back and said, ‘God, Chief, I love this. I think I want to do this for a living,’” McSherry recalled. “I said, ‘Well, we’ll help you as much as we can.’ And he went on and he did a hitch for Mickey up at Turkey Creek Township. And then he came down and he’s working for Warsaw-Wayne Township Fire Department. Shade Keeney is your Fireman of the Year.”
Warsaw Mayor Joe Thallemer surprised former mayor and Kosciusko County Councilman Ernie Wiggins with one of two Friend of the Fireman awards for service and leadership outside of the fire service.
Wiggins graduated from Warsaw High School in 1967 and from Purdue University in 1972. He earned his certified public accounting designation in 1980 and established Ramsey & Wiggins in 1984.
Representing the 3rd district of Warsaw, Wiggins was first elected to the Warsaw Common Council in 1983, then again in 1987, 1991 and 1995. He was elected Council president in 1996 through February 1997.
When Warsaw Mayor Jeff Plank resigned in March 1997, Wiggins was named mayor by caucus and was then elected in 1999, 2003 and 2007, serving three full terms through 2011.
“Again, 27 years total as an elected official for the city. And with his county terms, I lost track. He’s well over 30 years as an elected official for this community,” Thallemer said.
From the fire service perspective, as mayor, Wiggins worked with two chiefs - Matt Warren and Mike Rice.
“In the early years, Mayor Wiggins was able to scrape up enough for a downpayment and take out a loan on a ladder truck. One that’s still sitting in Station 2 today,” Thallemer said.
In November 2008, Wiggins began working with Wayne Township and Umbaugh & Associates to form the fire protection territory. The Warsaw-Wayne Fire Territory was established in 2009, expanding “our coverage and it also expanded the tax base, levying property taxes in its first year. In fact, in 2010, the first property tax distribution occurred,” Thallemer said. The equipment replacement fund also was established so new equipment could be purchased.
“As I mentioned at the outset, Ernie does not like the spotlight or fanfare. He leads by example. He was a great mentor to me. His vast knowledge and experience made him a very effective and respected leader throughout his career. But the most important thing he taught me was the value of building relationships to bring the community together and solve problems. This honor tonight speaks to his dedication to our community and his ability to lead,” Thallemer concluded.
McSherry said Wiggins was “truly a friend of the fireman with helping us fund all these radios across the county.”
Wiggins accepted the award with his children and grandchildren next to him.
The second recipient of the Friend of the Fireman awards went to Dennis Darr, presented by Turkey Creek Fire Territory Chief Mickey Scott.
Scott said when the county was looking to put up communication towers for the emergency radios, Darr helped find a spot and then another location when the first one didn’t work out. He said Darr does more for firefighters than he knows.
Indiana State Fire Marshal Stephen Jones was in attendance at the Thursday’s event and spoke briefly.
“First of all, I want to say I’m absolutely blown away. You guys have something special here. Not every county in the state of Indiana do this. I’m very humbled. I’ve been in this seat for three weeks. I can’t believe that I’m here, but I want you to know that myself, my staff, anything that you guys need, I want to be able to help deliver that,” Jones said.
He told them they are important, their communities count on them and their families are important to him as well. “And your health is important. Your mental health is important. Your example of being able to work together in this county, it just blows me away,” Jones said.
He said he was going to talk about the Fire Association because what they’ve got going on here, not every county has.
“The fire service is the most important entity in our communities. If we didn’t carry the flags in our communities, who would? It’s the fire service. Who would help run the little leagues? It’s guys like you and gals like you who do that. Without the fire service, where would our communities be? So, I just want to say thank you for what you do. Thank your spouses, your kids, your grandkids because it’s a family thing pulling things like this together and being what we need to be in our community and I very much appreciate you giving me the opportunity to just come visit, to just see. I’ve got a story to tell and it’s a good one,” Jones said.
John Grolich, district 5 chairman, Indiana Volunteer Firefighter’s Association, presented 25-year pins to nine firefighters who were present, with several firefighters who were not present to get their pins at a later date. Pins for firefighters who served 10 years also will given out at a later date.
“Our legislators this year are working on a benefit package for volunteer firefighters. Something that we’ve not had and certainly we need that. We need that,” he stated.
Association President Kevin McSherry said, “Our brother Roger (Gelbaugh) passed this last year and I’d like to have a member of his family come up. We have a thank-you plaque to the Gelbaugh family for borrowing Roger.”
Winona Lake Fire Chief Kevin Gelbaugh accepted the plaque on the family’s behalf.
Harold Gunkel, North Webster Fire Department, received the Kosciusko County Firefighters Service Award. He was nominated by the Sidney Fire Department.
“This service award is not only longevity, but it’s what you do in this period of time that you’ve signed up. And it is a big deal to have stuck it out,” McSherry said.
Gunkel has been in the fire service for 40 years, serving in many roles of the NWFD and his community. “His willingness to jump in and do whatever needs to be done has saved his department and his community drastically, both financially and physically. His experience and knowledge has been passed on to younger generations of firefighters and is always willing to teach anyone how to be better and how to get things done faster and safer for everyone,” McSherry said.
The Fireman of the Year Award went to Shade Keeney. McSherry said he wrote the letter for Keeney.
“He came to Seward Township Fire Department as a young man, and one of his first structure fires, he came back and said, ‘God, Chief, I love this. I think I want to do this for a living,’” McSherry recalled. “I said, ‘Well, we’ll help you as much as we can.’ And he went on and he did a hitch for Mickey up at Turkey Creek Township. And then he came down and he’s working for Warsaw-Wayne Township Fire Department. Shade Keeney is your Fireman of the Year.”
Warsaw Mayor Joe Thallemer surprised former mayor and Kosciusko County Councilman Ernie Wiggins with one of two Friend of the Fireman awards for service and leadership outside of the fire service.
Wiggins graduated from Warsaw High School in 1967 and from Purdue University in 1972. He earned his certified public accounting designation in 1980 and established Ramsey & Wiggins in 1984.
Representing the 3rd district of Warsaw, Wiggins was first elected to the Warsaw Common Council in 1983, then again in 1987, 1991 and 1995. He was elected Council president in 1996 through February 1997.
When Warsaw Mayor Jeff Plank resigned in March 1997, Wiggins was named mayor by caucus and was then elected in 1999, 2003 and 2007, serving three full terms through 2011.
“Again, 27 years total as an elected official for the city. And with his county terms, I lost track. He’s well over 30 years as an elected official for this community,” Thallemer said.
From the fire service perspective, as mayor, Wiggins worked with two chiefs - Matt Warren and Mike Rice.
“In the early years, Mayor Wiggins was able to scrape up enough for a downpayment and take out a loan on a ladder truck. One that’s still sitting in Station 2 today,” Thallemer said.
In November 2008, Wiggins began working with Wayne Township and Umbaugh & Associates to form the fire protection territory. The Warsaw-Wayne Fire Territory was established in 2009, expanding “our coverage and it also expanded the tax base, levying property taxes in its first year. In fact, in 2010, the first property tax distribution occurred,” Thallemer said. The equipment replacement fund also was established so new equipment could be purchased.
“As I mentioned at the outset, Ernie does not like the spotlight or fanfare. He leads by example. He was a great mentor to me. His vast knowledge and experience made him a very effective and respected leader throughout his career. But the most important thing he taught me was the value of building relationships to bring the community together and solve problems. This honor tonight speaks to his dedication to our community and his ability to lead,” Thallemer concluded.
McSherry said Wiggins was “truly a friend of the fireman with helping us fund all these radios across the county.”
Wiggins accepted the award with his children and grandchildren next to him.
The second recipient of the Friend of the Fireman awards went to Dennis Darr, presented by Turkey Creek Fire Territory Chief Mickey Scott.
Scott said when the county was looking to put up communication towers for the emergency radios, Darr helped find a spot and then another location when the first one didn’t work out. He said Darr does more for firefighters than he knows.
Indiana State Fire Marshal Stephen Jones was in attendance at the Thursday’s event and spoke briefly.
“First of all, I want to say I’m absolutely blown away. You guys have something special here. Not every county in the state of Indiana do this. I’m very humbled. I’ve been in this seat for three weeks. I can’t believe that I’m here, but I want you to know that myself, my staff, anything that you guys need, I want to be able to help deliver that,” Jones said.
He told them they are important, their communities count on them and their families are important to him as well. “And your health is important. Your mental health is important. Your example of being able to work together in this county, it just blows me away,” Jones said.
He said he was going to talk about the Fire Association because what they’ve got going on here, not every county has.
“The fire service is the most important entity in our communities. If we didn’t carry the flags in our communities, who would? It’s the fire service. Who would help run the little leagues? It’s guys like you and gals like you who do that. Without the fire service, where would our communities be? So, I just want to say thank you for what you do. Thank your spouses, your kids, your grandkids because it’s a family thing pulling things like this together and being what we need to be in our community and I very much appreciate you giving me the opportunity to just come visit, to just see. I’ve got a story to tell and it’s a good one,” Jones said.
John Grolich, district 5 chairman, Indiana Volunteer Firefighter’s Association, presented 25-year pins to nine firefighters who were present, with several firefighters who were not present to get their pins at a later date. Pins for firefighters who served 10 years also will given out at a later date.
“Our legislators this year are working on a benefit package for volunteer firefighters. Something that we’ve not had and certainly we need that. We need that,” he stated.
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