UFBA Newsletter | February 2012 - United Fire Brigades' Association

Silverdale District was quick off the mark on
presenting its members with the IYV+10 medals
issued by the UFBA and NZFS Commission
the day after International Volunteer Day.
Members of the Silverdale and Manly brigades
that make up Silverdale District were honoured
at the local RSA, “a fitting place to present
medals,” said Chief Fire Officer Frank Mackereth.
Before presenting the medals, Local Board
member John Kirikiri, an ex-firefighter himself,
spoke of the commitment made by volunteers
to attend fires, including the disruptions caused
by pagers that go off anywhere, anytime,
including in the middle of the night.
A total of 68 volunteers - 46 from Silverdale Fire
Brigade and 22 from Manly - were presented
with medals recognising their service to their
communities.
A special award was also presented to Silverdale
Station Officer Ali Turner by Alan Bestwick
from the NZ Fire Brigade Institute. The award
recognised Ali as a Fellow of the Fire Brigade
Institute.
PHOTOS (Paula Brown):
Top: QFF Andi Jackson and her daughter
RFF Alysha Watling from Manly after being
presented with their IYV + 10 awards.
Left: SO Ali Turner is presented with an NZFBI
Fellow award by New Zealand Fire Brigades’
Institute Councillor Alan Bestwick
Websites have become a must have
for every organisation – from big
businesses to small community groups.
Google “fire brigade” and you’ll find
several brigades listed. But the majority
of brigades haven’t yet developed their
own websites because they simply don’t
have the money, time or resources.
Many brigades recognise the value
of having a website as a tool for
recruitment, boosting community
support, promoting events,
fundraising, and recognising sponsors
and employers. But building and
maintaining a website can seem like a
daunting task – especially when there
are so many other things to worry about
when running a brigade.
The UFBA and Web Development
company Crescendo Multimedia
have been working on a solution that
will enable brigade members with
absolutely no web experience to easily
create a brigade website – free.
How Will it Work?
Brigades will designate a member
(or members) as administrators of
the website. These people must be
registered through the UFBA website
and will be given the ability to create
and edit the website with the Chief’s
authorisation.
Administrators will then be able to
upload photos and content, create
new pages and events, and edit any of
the content on a very simple interface.
There will be a pre-set template, but
brigades will be able to customise
colours and navigation to a certain
degree.
Web pages will be hosted through the
UFBA website, but brigades will have
the option to create their own unique
URLs or website addresses.
The UFBA and Crescendo will provide
support to brigades in setting up and
maintaining their new websites.
When Will it Launch?
“The content management system is
currently being built and we anticipate
that it will be completed by the end of
February,” says George Verry, UFBA Chief
Executive Officer. “Once it’s completed,
we plan to test it on members of
brigades and provincial associations,
and are looking for people to get
in touch with us if they’d like to be
involved in the testing phase.”
Verry says he anticipates that the tool
will be launched by the end of March.
“We have been looking for new ways
to support brigades, and we’re really
excited about this project. We wanted to
do something practical, cost effective,
and easy-to-use. We hope members will
take advantage of this tool – websites
really are invaluable ways to build the
profile of brigades in communities, and
to give the employers and organisations
that support our members the
recognition they deserve.”
Testers Wanted
The UFBA is now looking for
representatives from brigades to test
the website tool. If you are interested
in being involved in the process, please
email christa.lawlor@ufba.org.nz.
The Road Incident Management Seminar will be held in Rotorua
on 5th and 6th March to support and promote the transfer and
exchange of best practice for managing incidents affecting roads in
New Zealand.
The seminar is was created to facilitate the exchange of ideas to
further develop risk management and best practice and provide a
networking opportunity for those facing similar challenges in the
industry.
The seminar is to be held over a two day period. The two days
consist of key note speakers, paper presentations with trade
displays and networking opportunities over morning and lunch
time breaks. The Seminar dinner and entertainment will be
provided on the night of the 5th of March 2012.
For more information, go to www.rimseminar.co.nz.
2 United Fire Brigades’ Association February 2012 Newsletter 3