Thought’s from your Chief
It all begins with an idea. Welcome to the new and updated Ponder Fire Website. When this site was created almost 20 years ago it was done with the old school html programming and has since become a dinosaur to maintain. Recently I was introduced to a new platform that is easy to learn, and within a few short hours I have mostly recreated our website. It will continue to be a work in progress, and I have high hopes that some of the younger generation in our organization will be able to assist.
Now for the thoughts of the day, as I sit here reminiscing over the past year, I am honored to have the privilege to lead such a great organization. I fall short daily of meeting self-imposed expectations I have for being a great leader. However, practicing what I preach, I must not focus on what I have not or cannot do well, but attempt to continue to grow and evolve into the leader this team deserves.
The accomplishments over the past year have been phenomenal, exactly one year ago we instituted the stipend program to briefly supplement gaps in availability of personnel in the daytime hours. Immediate success was noted with a noticeable reduction in response times.
Strategic planning and execution took a dramatic turn over the past year. We were confident in our community’s support of continued progress towards implementing our own ambulance service and this in turn led us to the transition that is underway. Initially we were attempting to become part of our small town’s municipal structure. In essence, we would have become a department within the city. After several conversations, the creation of a merger committee, another option came to light. That option was to become part of the foundation of the Denton County Fire Protection Master' Plan’s option 3, which was to create a county fire department.
After careful consideration and exploration, our organization committed to pursuing this direction. In the short term, as our assets and operations work towards becoming part of a county system, we will continue to serve our community as a 501c3 nonprofit organization.
In approximately 3 years, the county fire rescue division will take over operations for the entirety of the district that our organization previously served. In addition, this future division will start to serve the rapidly growing unincorporated areas in western Denton county.
I am confident and excited that this merger/transition will be the most economical and effective plan for providing highest level of service for the community I call home!
