NEAFC 31st Annual Conference.pdf - New England Association of ...

NEW ENGLAND ASSOCIATION OF FIRE CHIEFS
We have with us at this Banquet tonight a few distinguished guests, and the first
one I am going to call upon is our new fellow member, Commissioner Cotter of the
Boston Fire Department; Marshal Scott and Mrs. Scott, Toronto, Canada; Chief Burnett
and Mrs. Burnett, Ottawa, Canada, 2nd Vice-President of the International Association
of Fire Chiefs; and President of the .Canadian Association, Roi B. Woolley and
Mrs. Woolley--and as you know, Roi Woolley is the ,Technical Ad.visor to the New
England Association of Fire Chiefs. (Applause).
I am going to ask all of the Past Presidents and their’ wives to stand up and take
a bow, at this time. (Applause.)
Ladies and Gentlemen, our first speaker on tonight’s program is a young man
whose friendship I have cherished for a number of years; he is a lawyer, and he is a
man I predict will never stop until he has attained the political goal that leads to Washington.
He is loved and’ respected by every citizen in New Hampshire, regardless of his
or her political affiliations.
It is a pleasure for me to present to you at this time His Excellency, Hugh Gregg,
Governor of New Hampshire! (Applause.)
His EXCELLENCY, HUGH GREGG: Thank you, Tony, for those very kind remarks.
Members of this grand Association, and your friends who are here this evening..
One of the really pleasant duties about being the Governor of a great State like New
Hampshire, is the privilege you have of welcoming the visiting firemen who come to
this state and their beautiful wives.
This is a particular pleasure tonight, because this is the first time that the "visiting
firemen" h~ve really .been firemen--and they really have their beautiful wives with them.
I want you to know that I feel very highly honored in having this opportunity to
be here with you, and to welcome you to our State.
I had the opportunity, this noontime, of meeting with a Police Association group
up in the White Mountains. I was wondering, as I drove down here, what the contrast
would be between the policemen and! the firemen. You know, I always think of
firemen with red shirts, and I always think of a lot of nice buildings burning--and then
I come down here, and I find such a well-controlled, magnificently behaved group! I
was, to be perfectly frank, quite surprised.. So I asked-the good Father, here, how it
happened, and he said that it was because he and the Reverend, Fitzsimmons took care
of things, and kept you in. line! (Applause.)
I was wondering if he wasn’t taking too much credit for this.
, It reminded me of a situation where there was a horrible accident in New Hampshire,
where a taxicab was involved. We had a taxicab driver, and two Protestant
ministers, and they finally got outside the Pearly Gates, to see whether or not they
qualified for admission. As they were standing there, St. Peter came along, and, to
the Congregationalist Minister he said:
"What is your occupation?".
"I have been a Minister for twenty-five years."
"All right; you step aside, then."
Then he turned to the next gentleman, and he asked:
"What is your occupation?"
"I am an Episcopal minister."
"’How long have you been in that profession?"
About-twen’ty~-five - yea~s:
215