Leadership Symposium March 26 & 27

   As stated in the last article this years Nebraska Fire Chief’s Association Leadership Symposium will cover two days with the Buffalo County Mutual Aid Association providing the second day of training. Attendees will have the choice of attending both days for $125 or either Saturday or Sunday for $75.  

   It doesn’t matter if you are a newcomer to the fire service or a seasoned veteran, from a volunteer or career department or if you only do EMS.  This training is geared toward any first responder so feel free to share this information with your Emergency Managers and law enforcement cohorts.  This is training we can all benefit from.

   To register please go to the NSVFA website (www.nsvfa.

org) and click on Education & Events from along the top row of the website.  Scroll down to the Fire Chief’s Leadership Symposium, once you click on that you will be taken to the registration page with options of registering online or printing off a registration form to use.  For the purpose of logistics registering sooner will be appreciated so we can plan accordingly.

   Richard B. Gasaway worked as a first responder in three public safety organizations including serving 22 years as a fire chief. After completing his distinguished 30-year career, Dr. Gasaway founded Situational Awareness Matters!, a consulting and teaching organization dedicated to improving how individuals, teams and organizations develop situational awareness as a foundation for improving workplace and personal safety.

   Saturday’s class will be Flawed Situational Awareness: The Stealth Killer of First Responders.  This program shares the powerful findings of Dr. Gasaway’s extensive research on issues related to first responder decision making and flawed situational awareness.  In his review of hundreds of near-miss reports, case studies, line-of-duty death reports and videos he continually found himself being frustrated because there were so many clues, indicators and signs that the incident was going to end in disaster.  Yet, for some reason, personnel operating at the incident scene – from company officers to incident commanders – could not see it coming.  Or if they did see it coming, they did nothing to alter their course.

   Sunday’s class will be The Leadership Toolbox; Best Practices for Leadership Success.  The program also looks at your style and behaviors, in a non-threatening way intertwined with humor, to help you understand how your behaviors and beliefs toward others influence their attitudes and performance. You’ll be introduced to best practices that are used by successful leaders in all walks of life and understand why some people can make leadership look so easy and effortless while others struggle with it daily. Come prepared to discuss some of your most difficult leadership challenges and leave with leadership tools that work! Topics are participant-driven based on the challenges they are facing. This is a chance to get help on some problems you may be facing such as Conflict resolution, Difficult co-workers, Leading change, Coaching, Leadership, Followership, Persuasion and influence, Counseling and discipline.

   This is great training with a great speaker at a great price!  Please help spread the word and we hope to see you in Kearney in March.

Todd “Walt” Walton,

President, Buffalo County Mutual Aid Association