2017-2018 Officers Installed during 111th Annual Conference & FIRE 2017 Expo
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Chief John P. Sroka of the Defreestville Fire Department (Rensselaer County) was installed as president of the New York State Association of Fire Chiefs (NYSAFC) during the 111th Annual Conference & FIRE 2017 Expo Installation Ceremony held on June 17, 2017, at the Turning Stone Resort in Verona, NY. He will serve a one-year term leading the statewide organization.
Sroka has been a member of the Defreestville Fire Department since 1967 and served as chief of the department from 1970-1981. He has served as a deputy director of the Rensselaer County Bureau of Emergency Services and also as a deputy fire coordinator. Sroka has been a member of various New York state fire service related projects, including the Secretary of State’s Fire and Life Safety Task Force, the Task Force on Recruitment and Retention in the Volunteer Emergency Services, and the NFPA Risk Watch® New York State Management Team. He has been a member of NYSAFC since 1970 and worked on a wide range of committees before joining the board of directors in 2007. Sroka was selected NYSAFC’s "Committee Member of the Year" in 2005.
Also during the ceremony, Chief Julius J. Leone Jr. of the Fredonia Fire Department (Chautauqua County) was sworn in as 1st vice president and Chief Robert P. Parese of the Little Falls Fire Department (Herkimer County) was sworn in as 2nd vice president. Both will serve one-year terms.
Chief R. Scott Ewing of the Plattsburgh District #3 Fire Department (Clinton County), Chief Bruce E. Heberer of the Johnstown Fire Department (Fulton County), Chief Robert R. Kloepfer Jr. of the Floral Park Fire Department (Nassau County), Chief William K. Owen III of the Stittville Fire Department (Oneida County), and Chief Michael J. Volpe of the Busti Fire Department (Chautauqua County) were sworn in as directors. Ewing and Kloepfer will serve additional three-year terms as volunteer directors, while Heberer and Volpe will serve three-year terms as career and EMS director, respectively. Owen, newly elected to the board, will serve a three-year term as a volunteer director.
Congratulations to the 2017-2018 officers of the New York State Association of Fire Chiefs. Look for more information on all NYSAFC directors and committees on the NYSAFC website later this summer.
A wrap-up of the 111th Annual Conference & FIRE 2017 Expo will be featured in upcoming issues of The NYSAFC Bugle and SIZE UP magazine. Photos from the event will be available on NYSAFC’s Flickr photostream later this summer. Videos of the Keynote Address, Memorial Service, and Installation Ceremony will be available on NYSAFC’s YouTube channel. Also, the digital edition of the official FIRE 2017 Program Guide is still available, if you're looking for information on show vendors.
