CalChiefs Full Board Collaborates to Develop New Mission, Vision, and Values
 January 17, 2012 - Sacramento
The Full Board of the California Fire Chiefs Association met for their Annual Planning Workshop this week to prepare and plan for the upcoming year.
President Shaffer lead the group in an exercise to cast a new vision, mission, and values for CalChiefs.
The collaborative process, that also involved partner agencies including: SFM, State Fire Training, CalEMA, and others led to the new guiding statements:
CalChiefs Vision:
Be the Voice of the California Fire Service.
CalChiefs Mission:
To strengthen and advocate for the California Fire Service through leadership, unity, and collaboration.
CalChiefs Values:
-Integrity
-Professionalism
-Credibility
-Innovation
-Competency
PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE: 01/23/12
President’s Update and Legislative Report
January 2012
President’s Update by Demetrious N. Shaffer
The Executive and Full Board of Directors have been working diligently over the past four months to accomplish the goals that were outlined in my President’s Message posted on October 25, 2011. The following is a list of the three primary goals we wanted us to accomplish in the first six months of my term as President with an explanation of what we have done to accomplish them.
1. Strengthen the relationships that have already been established and create new ones.
2. Review our Mission, Vision, and Values (Do we know who we are?)
3. Improve upon our internal and external communications and messaging.
To strengthen the relationships already established and help to create new ones, members of the Executive Board have reached out to our partners (e.g., the State Fire Marshal’s Office, Cal EMA, EMSA, League Chiefs, etc.) to ensure greater coordination on issues affecting our members. Additionally, both our President-Elect and I have been traveling throughout the state meeting with the LA Area Fire Chiefs, Solano County Fire Chiefs, our Emergency Medical Services Section, and other key stakeholders to ensure that our members know we are here to represent their interests. Additionally, we plan on attending our Training Officer’s southern division meeting and the AFSS northern division meeting in February, the Operations Section and AFSS’ combined annual conference and the Western Fire Chief’s ten western states meeting in March, and many more.
Working with our partners and members has been, and will continue to be, key to ensuring that Cal Chiefs remains a strong organization that positively impacts the California Fire Service. To that end, it was important to define where we envision (our ultimate view of the organization) Cal Chiefs in the future, how we are going to get there, and what values we (the organization, the leadership, and members) share. Without these three key components in place, it was hard to define the path we were on and what projects needed to be prioritized to get there.
With our overall direction in mind, the Full Board of Directors met in Sacramento (January 16th – 18th) to work through a facilitated process to develop the following:
Vision: Be the voice for the California Fire Service
Mission: To strengthen and advocate for the California Fire Service through
leadership, unity, and collaboration
Values: Integrity, Professionalism, Credibility, Innovation, and Competency
The development of these core fundamentals of Cal Chiefs is important to ensure that we are all working toward the same goal of ensuring Cal Chiefs is recognized as the voice for the California Fire Service. While the vision statement puts us on the right path to ensure we are all driving in the same direction, it is our mission that provides the framework for decisions along the way. Essentially, when operating on behalf of Cal Chiefs we have the ability to answer the question whether the decision we are about to make is in furtherance of our Mission and thus help us to attain our Vision.
And, arguably the most important component is the identification of our Values. These not only serve as a guiding light for the leadership team and our members, but when put together with the Vision and Mission statements tells prospective members and those seeking our endorsement or support who we are and what we believe in. If you believe in our Vision, can support the Mission, and are not willing to compromise the Values we hold true then Cal Chiefs may very well be the right professional organization for you.
Prior to the annual planning meeting where the Vision, Mission, and Values were developed, the Executive Board hosted the second Presidents’ Forum since September. Both forums were well attended by the President’s of each Section including Operations, Emergency Managers, Administrative Fire Services, Communications, Emergency Medical Services, and the Fire Prevention Officers. This leadership group, along with several liaison chiefs, represents the primary leadership of the California Fire Chiefs Association.
One of the most prevalent issues identified during the Presidents’ Forums was that internal communications (i.e., amongst Board members and with our Members) needed to be improved. As a result, the leadership team developed a draft communications plan that includes an in-person quarterly Presidents’ Forum (two have already been held since September 2011), a published organizational chart that clearly identifies lines of communications to ensure all Section Presidents, Executive Board members, and our constituent Chiefs receive timely communications on the activities of Cal Chiefs, greater outreach to the County Fire Chief Associations throughout California, and a regular update from the President (you are reading the first one) to the Full Board of Directors and all members of Cal Chiefs.
I am very proud of our accomplishments over the past few months but do recognize it is only the beginning. For us to be successful as a team we will need to fully support each other, follow through with the implementation of our communications plan, and never lose sight of why we are here, where we are headed, or how we are going to get there.
Legislative Report by Ralph Heim
The Legislature returned to Sacramento on January 4th to commence the second year of the 2011-12 legislative session. January 31st is the final day for the Legislature to act on 2-year bills, those bills that are still in their house of introduction. Finally, February 24th is the deadline to introduce legislation for 2012.
Governor’s Proposed 2012-13 State Budget
The Governor recently released his proposed 2012-13 state budget and contained therein are a number of issues of interest to the Fire Service, including, but not limited to:
1. Elimination of the California Emergency Management Agency and makes it an office reporting directly to the Governor; and,
2. Elimination of the State 9-1-1 Advisory Board and policies and procedures will be revised as necessary through the state administrative process.
Cal Chiefs will be fully engaged with these proposals and any other that may impact the Fire Service.
Governor Delivers His State-of-the-State Address
On January 18th, the Governor delivered his State-of-the-State Address to a joint session of the Legislature. Key points from the Address include:
1. Promotion of his tax initiative that will appear on the November ballot and his caution to the Legislature that if it doesn’t pass, drastic cuts to every program in state government, including education, will be required;
2. Proposed major infrastructure projects including high-speed rail, water and renewable energy;
3. Urged the Legislature to quickly pass his 12-point public pension reform proposal, which won’t happen given the strong opposition to specific portions of the plan from local public employee unions. (The Legislature will pass pension reform this year in some modest fashion)
4. Indicted his strong desire to eliminate California’s yearly budget deficits and the “mountain of debt” over the next few years.
Legislation
As indicated above, the deadline to introduce new legislation this year is February 24th. To date only a few bills of interest to Cal Chiefs have been introduce including Assembly Bill 1506 by Assembly Member Jeffries and other Assembly/Senate Republicans that proposes to repeal the SRA fee recently adopted by the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection.
The Brown Administration, the sponsor of the SRA fee, will certainly oppose Assembly Bill 1506 and in the unlikely event the bill should reach the Governor’s desk, no doubt he would veto the measure.
Pension Reform
As cited above, the Legislature will address pension reform this year, but in addition to legislative proposals, there are a number of ballot initiatives in play as well.
As of January 18th, one such measure requiring all state and local public pension funds to invest 85% of their assets in California business has failed to secure sufficient signatures and is dead.
Others still pending include:
1. An initiative to eliminate collective bargaining rights for public employees. Circulation deadline is February 3rd;
2. An initiative to increase the income tax rate by up to 25% on public pensions over $100,000. Circulation deadline is also February 3rd;
3. An initiative to increase the minimum retirement age to 65 (58 for sworn public safety officers) for members of PERS and STRS. Also February 3rd circulation deadline; and
4. An initiative to reduce pension benefits for current and future public employees. Circulation deadline is February 10th.
CALCHIEFS INSTALLS NEW LEADERSHIP
New President Demetrious N. Shaffer is Sworn into Office
 October 10, 2011 Riverside, CA –Incoming California Fire Chiefs Association’s new President, Demetrious N. Shaffer, and President-Elect Nathan Trauernicht were sworn into office by Senate Majority Leader Ellen Corbett (D - San Leandro) at the California Fire Chiefs Association Annual Conference. The ceremony signaled a new era of leadership for the Association following the five-year Presidency of Chief Sheldon D. Gilbert.
The California Fire Chiefs Association (CalChiefs) was founded in 1897 and exists to promote informed and progressive leadership in the California Fire Service. CalChiefs represents the interests of all chief fire officers in California.
The new CalChiefs President, Chief Shaffer, has served in the California Fire Service for more than 20 years. He has promoted through the ranks from Reserve Firefighter in the City of Campbell to Fire Chief with the City of Newark. Following a successful consolidation in 2010, Chief Shaffer now serves as Deputy Fire Chief with the Alameda County Fire Department.
Chief Shaffer has earned four college degrees including a Master’s in Public Administration, and has testified before the Senate, Assembly and the State EMS Commission. He has worked on campaigns to stop domestic violence, raised money for local hospital districts, spent time as a high school tutor and mentor, and has been teaching in a Bachelors program as an adjunct faculty member since 2006.
“I am committed to representing the interests of all fire chiefs throughout California and know that establishing meaningful relationships - with labor and the community - and staying focused on the public’s safety are key to the success of the California Fire Chiefs Association,” said Chief Shaffer. He further said, “I’m excited about the opportunity to provide strong and consistent leadership during a time where the only certainty is that nothing is certain.”
Chief Shaffer will serve as President for the next three years and is thankful to have an energetic successor, Chief Trauernicht, who will take over as President at the end of his term. “We are already working hard to better understand the issues faced by our constituents throughout the state with the continued goal of improving services to our communities,” said President-Elect Trauernicht.
To contact Chiefs Shaffer or Trauernicht you can email them at:
dshaffer@calchiefs.org or nathant@calchiefs.org
2011-2012 ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP DRIVE
It is time for our annual membership drive for Cal Chiefs! With the critical financial situation we all face it is more important than ever to keep our voice strong. Thanks to you, this past year saw continued growth in membership! We hope that you will continue to support our efforts, on behalf of the California fire service, in Sacramento on legislative issues, along with the many other services we provide. Our membership year runs from July 1, 2011, to June 30, 2012. Once again this year we will be publishing our Annual Report magazine, host our Annual Conference in Riverside (September 26 - 28), and continue with the Daily Dispatch and email fan outs. We also support our 8 Sections and our Legislative Taskforce.
Please support Cal Chiefs with your membership today!
Click on this link for the 2011-2012 Membership Invoice
Print the invoice and mail to the address listed at the bottom of the form. If you have any questions, please call the office at 530-534-4692.
AFSS Annual Conference - 2012
20th Annual Conference
March 11-14, 2012
Embassy Suites Monterey Bay-Seaside
Fire Service Leadership Summit
held in conjunction with the Operations Section
Conference Information
 42nd Annual
Emergency Vehicle Technician
Training Academy
April 2-6, 2012
McClellan Business Park, Sacramento, California
Full Academy Brochure
Equipment Showcase Flyer
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