Rahne Elected IAFF 9th District Vice President

December 18, 2012 -- Ray Rahne has been elected and sworn in as the new 9th District Vice President. He will complete the unexpired term of Randall Atkinson, who died October 9.

Brother Rahne, a member of Littleton, CO Local 2086, received 6,284 votes and Brother Rocky Hanes, a member of Tualatin Valley, OR Local 1660, received 4,207 votes.

Rahne says Atkinson’s untimely passing is a bittersweet time for him to follow in the footsteps of his great friend and mentor, describing the experience as overwhelming. Rahne says former 9th District Vice President Mike McNeill, who died in 2007, was also a mentor.

“I am very humbled to be joining this great, elite International board and to be one of its 16 members,” he says. “My vision is to continue to unite the 9th District and to move it forward. I am here to serve and to be of service. To me this is just an honor and a privilege to serve as 9th District Vice President.”

“On behalf of the entire IAFF Executive Board, I want to welcome District Vice President Rahne to this important leadership position,” says IAFF General President Harold Schaitberger. “I am confident that he will represent District 9 in an outstanding fashion. We all look forward to working with him in accomplishing the work of our great union.”

Rahne, 64, joined the fire service in 1972 at the age of 24. He served for 40 years at the Littleton Fire Rescue Department, moving up the ranks serving as a lieutenant, captain and battalion chief before retiring this year.

Rahne served as treasurer of Littleton Local 2086 beginning in the late 1970s before eventually serving as local president for 16 years. In 1988, he was elected secretary-treasurer of the Colorado Professional Fire Fighters and served for 24 years. He was also elected the vice president of the Colorado AFL-CIO serving for four years.

Rahne says he loved being a fire fighter.

“It is the greatest job in the world and to be able to do it for 40 years – it’s just been an incredible ride,” he says.

Prior to his career in the fire service, Rahne was a member of the U.S. Marine Corps serving on a six-member reconnaissance team in Vietnam. Following his military service, he joined the fire service because of its tight-knit community.

Rahne and his wife, Darlene, have three children and nine grandchildren and live in Lakewood, Colorado.