2023 UNDERCLIFF VFC AWARD RECIPIENTS

Tonight at our February company meeting we took some time to recognize some special awards presented to a few members for the year of 2023.

Our first award was the 2023 Firefighter of the Year Award. This award is presented to one firefighter who goes above and beyond the call of duty. This year’s award was presented to firefighter Mallorie Kaiser! Mallorie always comes to the station with a positive attitude snd continues to push herself to be the best she can be on the fire ground. This past year, Mallorie logged over 200 hours of fire training, all while working EMS and going to nursing school full time. Mallorie is always welcoming to new members and always offers to help them when she can. She always tries to make as many fire calls as she can to help serve the community. Mallorie does a lot for the station on the fundraising side as well, which we are thankful for. We are very proud of Mallorie for all her hard work this year! Thanks for all you do and keep up the great work Mallorie!

Our next award is the 2023 Line Officer of the Year Award. This award is voted on by the membership and is presented the line officer who the members feel went above and beyond the call of duty. This years award was presented to Lieutenant Tom Hegerle! Since becoming a line officer, Tom has made great strides and continues to grow into an excellent leader. He always put 100% effort into what he does and continues to take new classes to expand his knowledge. Tom’s “go getter” attitude has led to many positive outcomes on calls and he continues to push to be the best he can. Tom has also taken the lead on the vehicle maintenance program at the station to keep our vehicles safe and fit for duty. Thank you for all you have done for the station Tom! Keep up the great work!

The last award we presented was the 2023 Junior Firefighter of the Year Award. This award is presented to a Junior firefighter who goes above and beyond in their duties at the station. This year’s award was presented to Junior Firefighter Donald Mastandrea! Since joining Undercliff, Donald has been a great addition to our team! Donald always shows up to the station with a great work ethic and continues to expand his knowledge of the fire service. Donald is always there to help out on fire calls as well as actively participating in company trainings. Donald’s efforts on fire calls this year truly made a difference, especially when it came to ensuring ladders were at all the windows on fires. Thank you for all you do for the station Donald! Keep up the great work!

Finally, we took a moment to recognize our 2023 “Top 10 Responders” for fire calls. These volunteers put in hundreds of hours training and responding to emergency calls at all hours of the day. Their dedication to the community is remarkable as is the dedication of all our members! Each “Top 10” firefighter received a new piece of clothing or gift of their choice as a small token of appreciation for all their hard work. Thank you all for for all you do for the community! Please join us in congratulating all our award recipients!
***Not pictured, Brandon Walkowski***