PORT ALLEGANY — The Star Hose Fire Co. #1 Annual Banquet was held recently at the Fire Hall.
The Master of Ceremonies for the event was Caleb Benson, President of the group. He introduced special guests including U.S. Rep. Glenn Thompson, R-Pa.; Sen. Cris Dush, R-Brookville; McKean County President Judge John Pavlock; Commissioner Tom Kreiner; District Attorney Stephanie Vettenberg-Shaffer; Chief Bryan Phelps and Chief Justin Fillhart.
The dinner was catered by Eddie’s on Main.
Pavlock served as guest speaker for the evening. Following his talk, service awards were presented to the following:
One year: Zac Clendenin, Luke Dunkle, Kendra McGarvey-Smoker, Kaden Price, Mikya Stake, Isaiah Wiley, Brennan Taylor and Bren Carlson. Five years: Travis Coopersmith and Leonard Hess; 10 years — Nancy Hardes and Mark Schweighart; 15 years — Caleb Benson; 20 years — Mark Errick; 25 years — Travis Rankin.
Thirty years: Kevin Ernst, Doug Goodrich, Dave Hobbs, Fred Roys, Brian Evens, Dan Roys; 40 years: Bob Hartle, Dan Lane, III and Chris Petrisek; 45 years: Rod Johnson and Kirk Thomas; 50 years: Tom Johnson, Dennis Williams, Gary Caulkins and Wayne Parish; and 60 years — George Hults.
A special award for 65 years of service was to be given to Larry Brundage. Brundage passed away the night before the banquet. A presentation of his plaque was later given to his family.
The Sig Anderson Awards were presented for the past two years since there was no banquet held in 2021. This training award was earned by Mikya Stake for her dedication to training in the spirit embodied by Sig Anderson in 2021. The 2022 Sig Anderson Award was presented to Zachary Williams.
Two citations were also presented to the following: Captain Andrew Johnson, Lieutenant Tyler Shaffer, FF Tom Johnson, FF Rod Johnson, FF Lucas Johnson, Jr., FF Mikya Stake for Incident Number 21-166 on July 27, 2021 when Rescue 3 was dispatched to a residence on Route 155 for a Trench Rescue. Units arrived to find a male patient who had fallen from a height into a trench and was partially buried. Crews shored the trench, established a rope system, then entered the trench to remove the patient, who was then flown to a trauma center where he received treatment for life-threatening injuries. Without any doubt, the actions of Rescue 3 contributed to saving the life of the patient.
The firemen are led by Chief Alex Johnson, Deputy Chief Michael Johnson, Assistant Chief Kevin Ernst, Captain Andrew Johnson, Lieutenant Fred Roys, Lieutenant Tyler Shaffer, Fire Police Captain Denny Williams and Fire Police Lieutenant Nancy Hardes.
In addition to President Caleb Benson, officers include Vice President Dave Hobbs, Financial Secretary Michael Johnson, Treasurer Tom Johnson and Secretary Nancy Hardes.
