In the News!

SPIRIT OF SERVICE AWARD GOES TO ELEVEN STUDENTS

Over the semester breaks of the two colleges, members of the A.E.Crandall Hook and Ladder Company had members on call for a full week, rather than the usual nightly rotations when school is in session. We assume that everyone was able to get away and/or get some rest knowing that everything was covered. Still, Bob Pipal, Jane Cochran, Nancy Furlong, and Walt Shultze were very busy in the month of January. With twenty-four ambulance calls in January, and slightly more than half representing local residents and spread throughout the month, the company was truly needed and available throughout the holidays. It is also of great concern that a total of eleven calls were students, but that for more than two-and-a-half weeks of January the students were out of town, on break. The BEST news is the nomination of ELEVEN company members for the Spirit of Service Award, given annually in Alfred to honor the work of Dr. Martin Luther King.

A. E. Crandall member John Hosford nominated a cadre of students from Alfred State and Alfred University! The “Student Group” of A.E. Crandall won the Spirit of Service Award through their bond with one another and the Alfred Community, as well as their hours of dedicated service in ambulance and fire calls. As Hosford noted in his letter of nomination “Over the past two years these students combined have gone on more than 200 ambulance and fire calls in the Village and Town of Alfred, they have completed weekly training in the department, and a number of them have taken courses through the county such as Fire Fighter one and EMT_A.” In addition, they have put in hours of maintenance and repair, “including painting, electric work, cleaning, and even managing student peers when they come to volunteer for community service, and apparatus maintenance.” It is clear that all of Alfred benefits from such generosity and community mindedness.Thank these very community minded students who are so willing to get up in the wee hours, or drop their leisure activities to respond to emergencies. Our company and our community are well served by these students! The members from Alfred State College are Aaron Aumick, Nick Dukette, Joe Ferreri, Mike LoPreto, Brian O’Connor, Larry Pratt, and Coral Smith. The members from Alfred University are Nick Fletcher, Daniel Forsman, Richelle Jenkins, and Andrew King.

As John Hosford said in his citation, and the company heartily agrees: “The eleven tudents who provide these countless hours of service have always done so without interest in accolades or personal gain.” These students respond to emergencies and make contributions in many ways “out of a sheer necessity to do ‘good’ and a willingness to, without hesitation, help others in need. We are very fortunate to have them in our community.”