Sunday, May 4, 2008
Getting ready for this season has been particularly difficult. Normally we have another 7 plus weeks to get ready. Our purchase of the newest addition to our fleet, the Kenworth/Dorsey took far longer than I thought. Ultimately, we barely had a week to take delivery in Bakersfield, drive it to Fresno for some last minute arrangements then head to Real Wheels in Gurnee for their finishing touches. Then off to D.C. for a kickoff on the US Mall on the 2nd of April. This is after returning from 3 weeks in New Zealand where the 2nd National Firefighter Combat Challenge Championship was held in Nelson. That will be the subject of another Blog entry. The D.C. event was made more tenuous because we could not have access to the site until well past noon on the 1st. This was an incredible effort, made possible by the dedication of John Tillett, Chuck DeGrandpre, Tim Roberson, Shane Farmer, Brent Davis, Matt Haire, Brittany Davis, Daniel Pace, Jay Staeden, Clint Lamb, Rich Klimm, Rex Nimrod and Andy from Knoxville Squad 7. The retrograde was likewise a very difficult task with an expectation to vacate 4th Street by 5PM. We almost made it. But, the effort was clearly worth it. The Tug-o-War between the United States and the United Kingdom was spectacular. More on this as well.