Maryland and Virginia MDA Fill the Boot

Left: Montgomery County, MD Local 1664 broke their record this year with an all time high, collecting $235,000 for MDA through the Fill The Boot Campaign! The team crushed last year’s total of $57,661 WOW! Their tremendous success was due to high energy, dedication, fun attitudes and big hearts. This year proved monumental as the men and women were able to participate on duty for the first time, which resulted in an impressive turnout. Even in the scorching heat they kept smiling. We are so proud! Job well done Local 1664!

Right: Baltimore County, MD Local 1311 did a phenomenal job raising funds for the MDA over Labor Day weekend. The Fill the Boot program was a huge success, over four days the fire fighters raised over $100,000! Congrats to Station 8, which collected just over $20,000, and to this year’s top single company - Station 14 for collecting just over $5,000. Also deserving recognition are Station 7 for collecting just over $17,000, and Station 54 for collecting almost $5,000. All companies that collected did an excellent job and showed the selfless dedication they have to serving the public and those fighting neuromuscular diseases. Thank you Baltimore County Fire Fighters, MDA loves you!

Left: Fairfax County, VA Local 2068 - CONGRATULATIONS for their fantastic 2007 Fill the Boot Campaign and being the #1 collecting local in the entire country! This year’s 4-day Fill the Boot Campaign raised a phenomenal $536,026 far surpassing their goal of $375,000. Participation in this year’s campaign was tremendous with 100% participation by the County’s 37 stations for 3 of the 4 days! Coordinators Joel Kobersteen and Kristin Wallace did an incredible job facilitating this year’s campaign motivating everyone to strive for excellence. Local 2068 is involved with the MDA throughout the year, hosting a cookout and bringing a dunk tank to the local MDA summer camp and naming MDA Goodwill Ambassadors Honorary Firefighters at Local meetings.

Right: Fairfax City, VA Local 2702 had total confidence in their ability to take their Fill the Boot drive to the next level. In 2006, this 60 person local collected in intersections for the first time, jumping from $3,231 to $15,000. At the IAFF/MDA meeting in March 2007, Local President Lt. Dwayne Harman and firefighter Joe Charley set the 2007 goal at $25,000. To ensure their success, MDA Coordinator Lt. Shawn Dunstan arranged for each shift to “adopt” their own MDA family – inviting them to dinners, lunches, and tours at the station. During their five day boot drive, Lt. Harman and Lt. Dunstan motivated everyone to get out into the intersections and collect. Their hard work paid off – Local 2702 raised $62,000, more than quadrupling their 2006 total!!

Left: Arlington County, VA Local 2800 started to rebuild their Fill the Boot program this year. MDA Coordinator Bobby Beer led the effort to increase their total by $7,000!! Pete DePuy motivated station 5B in Crystal City to collect in large intersections during rush hour. Despite a high call volume, 5B collected the most money, beating out 9 other stations to take first place in the Arlington County competition! Arlington County was able to present an impressive $29,000 at the MDA telethon over Labor Day weekend.

Right: Loudon County, VA Local 3756 had a six-figure Fill the Boot Campaign which was a dream for the Loudoun County Virginia MDA Coordinator Nicole Carter. She set a lofty goal of $100,000 for the 2007 Campaign, up from $87,000 collected in 2006. Just 3 years ago, Loudoun County raised $23,000 for the MDA, and their growth has been significant with every passing year. Over Labor Day Weekend, with Mother Nature on their side, Loudoun County was not only able to reach their goal, but exceed it by 10% raising an incredible $110,000 for the children and adults in the area with neuromuscular disease! Congratulations on your great success!!

Left: Manassas City, VA Local 4406 President Andy Carver led the firefighters to another successful Fill the Boot season for 2007. With only one day to collect, Manassas City raised a total of $6,375.00 on August 25.

Right: Winchester, VA Local 3401 nearly tripled their Fill the Boot total by raising an amazing $18,250.00 over Labor Day weekend. Blane Johnson, union president of Winchester, encouraged each station to participate by rallying together for a barbecue with Caleb Arbaugh, MDA’s Goodwill Ambassador. The strong leadership and motivation resulted in an $11,250.00 increase!

Left: Manassas Park, VA Local 2757 filled the boot over Labor Day weekend and raised $25,544.00. MDA couldn’t be happier with their $9,544.00 increase since 2006. David Friedman, union president of Manassas Park, played a key role in this year’s success by making sure more fire fighters were able to collect.

Right: Stafford, VA Local 4012, in their second year of Filling the Boot for Jerry’s Kids, were able to raise $25,000 in the fight against neuromuscular disease. A kickoff barbeque organized and hosted by Stafford’s Fill the Boot Committee allowed many firefighters to meet several area children who attend MDA Summer Camp. Stafford County Firefighters were able to come down and visit MDA Summer Camp this past June to meet the kids and help with speed boat rides. Congratulations to Stafford on achieving their $25,000 goal and making a difference!

Left: Henrico County, VA Local 1658 have been involved with MDA since 1998, having raised over $252,000 through 2006. This year’s campaign became much more personal for the men and women of the local, however, upon the loss of Lieutenant Fred Parker, who passed away from ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s disease. A respected member of the department, Lt. Parker was an inspiration in his lifetime for his fellow firefighters, as well as a motivation through the legacy he left behind. Here was born 2007’s Fill the Boot slogan in Henrico, “$50,000 for Fred”. T.C. Moore, the county’s Fill the Boot coordinator, had t-shirts printed and emblazoned with the slogan, which the firefighters then sold to add to their Fill the Boot total. T.C. and his Fill the Boot committee solicited donations by personally visiting over 50 businesses, to add to the MDA pot as well. A letter-writing campaign and charity bar night also helped to increase the amount raised for MDA. In the end, the days of enduring the hot weather paid off. Station 13 led the way with collecting $9,411, followed by Station 12 with $6,342 and Station 22 with $5,342! And Local #1568 as a whole far exceeded their 2006 total of $25,475 by a whopping $31,826! In honor of Lt. Parker, badge #301, the Henrico Firefighters raised $57,301 in 2007!

Congratulations Henrico! You really did “$50,000 for Fred”!

Right: Norfolk, VA Local 68 holds the Bronze Boot for the Hampton Roads Area, awarded to the Union that raised the most money in their Fill-the-Boot Campaign, goes to…Norfolk Professional Fire Fighters Local 68, lead by Royce Munker, IAFF MDA Coordinator! This amazing group of Fire Fighters will never give up! Though they can not collect on duty they managed to get 175 volunteers to hit the streets in blaze orange shirts for their annual Fill-The-Boot campaign. Their dedication certainly paid off as they raised a remarkable $61,000 and were awarded the Bronze Boot which travels from city to city in the Hampton Roads area.

(Not Pictured) Thanks to the dedication and determination of the York County Local 2498, lead by Andrew Waters, Ronnie Lewis, Dave Outten and Local 2498 Union President, Don Dinse, their annual Fill-The-Boot Campaign raised an astounding $16,355. This is a 1,535% increase over last year! Their fundraising efforts were not only limited to Fill-The-Boot, but became a year round challenge which included a 1st annual golf tournament and poker run. Hats off to Hampton Road’s most improved local!