2011 Fire Training Officers of the Palm Beaches Officers

Division Chief Roger Lane, President Elect

Lieutenant Donald J. Minor, Vice President Elect

Lieutenant Andrew Lezza, Secretary Elect

Division Chief Saen Olsen, Treasurer – incumbent

2011 Fire Training Officers of the Palm Beaches Board of Directors

Training Officer Randy Lefebvre – incumbent   

Capt Brian Lamb  

Capt James Trube

The Fire Training Officers of the Palm Beaches, L.L.C. was formed to assist the Palm Beach County Fire Chief’s Association with the training related needs of fire departments in and around Palm Beach County Florida.

Until November of 2009 the organization was not officially recognized by the state of Florida as an individual entity, but was an extension of the Palm Beach County Fire Chiefs Association. All activities were presumed by its membership to be sanctioned and protected under the auspices of the parent organization.

In October of 2009 however, it was decided by the membership that as an organization the Fire Training Officers of the Palm Beaches could better serve the needs of the communities that it served, by becoming a non-profit LLC. This would allow the entity to accept donations from businesses and use the money toward the education of emergency service personnel. It became necessary to form the a Limited Liability Corporation to protect the officers from costs associated with facility rental, insurance acquisition, and potential liability issues related to the training of emergency service personnel.

In November 2009 Division Chief Roger Lane, the president of the Fire Training Officers of the Palm Beaches applied for and received certification of the organization as limited liability corporation by the state of Florida.

Circa 1984 the FTOPB developed countywide Accountability and Incident Management System SOG. It was later revised in 2008.

2005- Present FTOPB gave a $500- $1000 contribution to the Firefighters Burn Camp

2006 County Wide High Rise SOG completed and ratified by the FCAPBC

2007 October Multi-jurisdictional HOT Training - over 360 fire rescue personnel were trained over two days.

2008 High Rise Tactics - short run canceled after first day due to insurance issue.

2009 Leadership course called Buddy to Boss more than 90 firefighters were trained over a one week period.

2010 South Florida HEAT conference has over 650 event registrations and two weeks before event.

2010 A $500 scholarship will be awarded towards tuition for fire or EMS related education. Criterion to be decided by the board of directors and is most likely to be based on diversity and financial need.

2010 March registration begins for the Mock Trail class at the Palm Beach County Courthouse.

By-Laws of

The Fire Training Officers of the Palm Beaches, Inc.

*The language contained herein is intended to be gender neutral. He shall also imply she, and him imply her etc.

Article I

Purpose and Objectives

Section 1. The Corporation is organized and operated exclusively for charitable, educational, religious, or scientific purposes within the meaning of section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.

Section 2. The main purpose of this organization is to associate with and bring together all interested fire department personnel, in Palm Beach County, through the effective interaction of all member departments. The Fire Training Officers of the Palm Beaches, Inc. was formed to assist the Palm Beach County Fire Chief’s Association with the education and training related needs of fire departments and EMS providers in and around Palm Beach County Florida.

Section 3. The Board of Directors shall supervise over the affairs of the Association and shall consist of the President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer, and three Directors duly elected by the members in good standing.

Article II

Duties of Officers

Section 1. President – It shall be the duty of the President to enforce strict observance of the By-Laws, carry out such directives, will and duties as may be imposed upon him by and on behalf of the membership, and preside over all general or special purpose meetings. The President shall have general supervision of the affairs of the association and shall sign, as President all contracts and other instruments of writing. The President shall appoint all committees (except the nominating committee) from the active membership. The President shall be a member ex oficio of all committees. The President shall make himself available for consultation on fire training problems or matters of an urgent nature to the membership.

Section 2. Vice-President – In the absence or inability of the President, the Vice-President shall perform all the duties of that office. When the President is presiding, he shall assist the Vice-President in every way possible. Should a vacancy occur in the office of president, he shall at once assume all duties and responsibilities of that office.

Section 3. Secretary – It shall be the duty of the secretary to keep a complete record of all proceedings of the Association, to receive and answer all communications pertaining to the Association. The time and date of the regular meetings shall be established as a particular day of each month, set and published by the Secretary, on the Associations calendar and distributed to all departments, organizations and individual members by the Secretary as established in article VI.

Section 4. Treasurer – It shall be the duty of the treasurer to keep a roster of all associate members, active members and members in good standing, to collect all monies and membership dues, to issue all payments when countersigned by the President or Vice-President and to maintain an accurate accounting of all the monies of the Association.

Section 5. Directors – The Directors of the Association shall act under the auspices of the President of the Association. They shall perform various committee works as directed by the President. They shall also appoint the nomination committee. Upon the direction of the President, they shall audit the books of the Association. Directors, in the event of a vacancy, will be elected from the members in good standing.

Article III

Membership

Section 1. Member in good standing – any member whose Department’s dues or personal dues are up to date and who has attended at least six (6) meetings during the previous year, and shall not have missed more than 3 consecutive meetings (unexcused), shall be considered to be in good standing. Example of excused absence: on duty, fire service conference, or annual vacation.

Section 2. Active – Active members of this organization shall be recognized members of any organized Municipal, County or Industrial Fire Department. This section will also include any persons closely associated with fire service training but, who do not fit neatly into any previous category, may be included as active members by way of a motion by a member in good standing and a successful vote according to the by laws.

Section 3. Associate – Associate members shall be those persons involved in the manufacture or distribution of any fire related product, service or training item. Fire service retirees shall be included in this category. Associate members shall have no vote; however, they may be requested to serve on any committee as a consultant unless affiliated with an organization which would create a conflict of interest. These members will be required to pay dues.

Article IV

Dues

Section 1. The annual dues for each member department or organization shall be, one hundred (100) dollars, or ten (10) dollars for each individual who is not associated with a member department or organization, payable on the first day of January of each year. A list of members shall be provided to the Association Treasurer by the department or organization so that the list of active voting members can be maintained. This shall entitle said department or organization up to five (5) votes. A member must be present to vote.

Section 2. Any member department allowing its dues to remain unpaid beyond the first of April of any year shall be deemed delinquent and have its voting privileges revoked, until such time as the dues are paid.

Section 3. Any member or department whose dues are not recorded as paid by March fifteenth will be sent a reminder of impending delinquency by the Treasurer. The list shall be generated from membership of the previous two years.

Article V

Election of Officers

Section 1. One month before election of officers, the directors shall appoint a nominating committee of three (3) active members who shall submit a slate of officers at the following meeting. The names shall then be placed in nomination. All nominated officers must have expressed their willingness to serve prior to the date of the election. Additional members may be nominated from the floor at this time. Each member department shall have up to five (5) votes on this or any other matter.

Section 2. Only active members in good standing shall serve as officers of the Association. In keeping with the best interest of the Association, every effort should be made to rotate the officer positions equally throughout the County.

Section 3. Election of officers shall be at the November meeting of each year, or as vacancies occur.

Section 4. Newly elected officers will be installed at a special installation meeting in the month of December each year.

Section 5. The office of President, Vice-President, Treasurer, and Secretary, will each carry a term of two (1) year.

Article VI

Meetings

Section 1. For the good and welfare of the Association, regular meetings will be held monthly. Regular meetings shall be rotated from department to department to facilitate participation from as many of the Active Membership as possible. The time and date of the regular meetings will be established as a particular day of each month, set and published on the Associations calendar.

Section 2. The presence of six (6) active members will constitute a quorum.

Section 3. All questions and discussions shall be governed by “Robert’s Rules of Order”.

Article VII

Amendments

Section 1. Amendments to these By-Laws may be offered by any active member of the Association proposing the same in writing and serving the President, Secretary, and Treasurer with a copy thereof. Copies of the amendment will be given and or mailed to all active members. At the next regular meeting, the amendment will be discussed and voted upon.

Section 2. All amendments shall take effect upon adoption, at the next regularly scheduled meeting.

Section 3. Two thirds of the members present shall be needed for acceptance or refusal of said amendment.

Article VIII

Dissolution Clause

Section 1. Upon the dissolution of the corporation, the Board of Directors shall, after paying or making provisions for the payment of all the liabilities of the corporation, dispose of the assets of the corporation exclusively for the purposes of the corporation in such manner, or to such organization or organizations organized and operated exclusively for charitable, educational, religious, or scientific purposes as shall at the time qualify as an exempt organization or organizations under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (or the corresponding provision of any future United States Internal Revenue Law), as the Board of Directors shall determine. Any such assets not so disposed of shall be disposed of by the Court of Competent Jurisdiction of the county in which the principal office of the corporation is then located, exclusively for such, purposes or to such organization or organizations, as said court shall determine, which are organized and operated exclusively for such purposes.

Section 2. When dissolution is proposed, a written ballot shall be mailed to all active members in good standing. A simple majority of ballots returned shall be needed for passage.

Article IX

Order of Business

• Meeting calls to order.

• Pledge of Allegiance – Invocation

• Roll call

• Reading of minutes of previous meeting

• Application of membership

• Correspondence

• Financial report

• Report of sick or distressed members

• Committee report

• Unfinished business

• New business

• Good and welfare

• Location of next meeting

• Tricks of the trade

• Adjournment

Article X

User’s Fees

Section 1. Manufacturers or distributors of fire service equipment, apparatus or other related items, who solicit the Association for the purpose of demonstration or exposure of their items or product, may be charged a USER’S FEE by the Association to help defray the cost of administration of the Association as determined by the Executive committee.

Section 2. User’s fee shall be established for each request as identified in article X, section 1 above by an Executive Committee of this Association. User’s fees shall be based on the size and scope of each individual request and exposure potential generated through the Association for the company’s product.

Article XI

Fire Training Officers of the Palm Beaches Inc.

Section 1. The Fire Training Officers of the Palm Beaches Inc., is a non-profit corporation organized under the laws of the State of Florida, on Sept 29t, 2010. The corporation is organized and operated exclusively for charitable, educational, religious, or scientific purposes within the meaning of section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. The document number for this limited liability company is N10000009331. The registered agent is the President of the Fire Training Officers of the Palm Beaches Inc. The principal office and mailing address is 10500 – North Military Trail, Palm Beach Gardens, Fl. 33410.

Section 2. A limited liability annual report/uniform business report must be filed with the Florida department of State, Division of Corporations, electronically online at www.sunbiz.org between January 1 st and May 1 st of each year. The President or his designee is responsible to file this report each year.

Section 3. The Fire Training Officers of the Palm Beaches Inc., has been assigned an Employer Identification Number (EIN) [this information has been removed for protection from web publication]. The EIN identifies the organization, business accounts, tax returns, and documents, even though the organization does not have any paid employees.

Section 4. The Fire Training Officers of the Palm Beaches Inc., must file a Form # 1065 with the IRS by April 15 th of each year. The President or his designee is responsible to file this report each year.