Get Ready for a Little Change
It may be hard to teach an old dog new tricks. But you can learn a lot of tricks from an old dog.
The SDFA will be having a little change of operation coming soon.
We’re not changing tradition, because, heaven forbid, that would be sacrilegious.
I know, I’m talking about change to a bunch of firefighters, but really, we can handle it!
The SDFA is going to be switching to a new software system that will allow us to combine our membership, event registration, and website programming into one system.
The new system will allow for departments to do some of their updates to rosters; pay for their annual membership; sign-up for meeting, event, training and other notifications; register for events; and much more. You may see a change in the website layout this summer.
Once the system is running, we plan to have training sessions at the various fire schools to show the “old dogs” and the “techies” how to make life easier for your department and the SDFA. And each SDFA District Director will be trained to be able to assist you with some of the common items. Yes, we think it will be that easy to navigate the system. And this is coming from a guy who switched from a bag phone, to a flip phone, to a (semi) smart phone in the last 10 years.
State Fire School is 9-11 June in Fort Pierre. Registration will be open in April. Keep checking the SDFA website for class and registration updates. There will be a few classes that have a minimum and maximum size.
If you have had a former or current department member that has passed since fall 2020, we will be honoring them at the Memorial Service on Friday evening of State Fire School. We include all those that have been listed in the monthly newspaper and any others that are submitted. If you have had a current or former department member that you would like to include in the service, send their name, a photo (if possible), years of service to SDFA Board member Mark Stoks, NEDir@sdfirefighters.org, by 5 June.
If a family or department member would like to place the flower at the service, we graciously encourage them to be part of the service.
The SDFA Board will be meeting in Watertown on 26-27 March. If you have something you would like to discuss, contact your district representative and we can set a time for you. Much of our meeting will be finalizing 2022 state school and preparing for 2023.
I would like to wish everyone a Happy Easter and give thanks for the true sacrifice our Lord did for all of us.
Stay safe,
Charlie Kludt,
SDFA President