EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S REPORT Mary Werderitch, IFSA Executive Director

From the January 2008 newsletter...
At the end of all my emails I have the following phrase:

Volunteers are not paid not because they are worthless, but because they are priceless!

Our organization relies heavily on its volunteers. It would not be possible to do our programs without their dedication. With this in mind, I’d like to devote some of my article to the Illinois Fire Safety Alliance Board of Directors. This group of individuals have given countless hours of their time and energy for the good of our organization and its’ programs. Their passion for our mission is ever present at our board meetings and as they follow through on their committees. Some of them have full time jobs and still find time to dedicate to us. Some of them are retired and devote their lives to our programs.

I’d like you to meet our Board of Directors: I could fill an entire newsletter on each one of them but due to space, I’ll be brief!

President, Michael Figolah — Mike is the Chief of the Mount Prospect Fire Department.

Vice-President, Kathleen Haage — Kathy works for the Deerfield Bannockburn Fire Protection District as the Administrative Manger. She is also the Executive Director for the Northern Illinois Fire Protection Districts.

Vice-President, Terry Pluta — Terry is a retired Lieutenant from the Northlake Fire Department.

Secretary/Treasurer, James Saletta — Jim is also the Fire Chief at the Huntley Fire Protection District.

Director, Dottie Ahbe — Dottie is a retired teacher from District 87 in Northlake.

Director, Barry Bennett — Barry is the Social Worker for the Burn Unit at Loyola Medical Center in Maywood.

Director, Theresa Donoghue — Theresa is an adult burn survivor who is a sales representative for Pfizer Pharmaceuticals.

Appointed Director, Doug Goostree — Doug recently retired as Fire Chief of the Elk Grove Fire Department and is currently an Instructor and Fire Science Department Chair at McHenry County College.

I recently had a wonderful experience on the phone at 11:30 p.m. the other night.

The IFSA phone rings. I wonder who could be calling this late at night. I thought maybe a camper because that would not be that unusual. Much to my surprise it was the mother of a 17 month old baby that had received a scald burn in a bath tub while at day care. 3rd degree burns from the neck down. Needless to say this is in court. She was able to find comfort when she reread our information on the card we distribute with our bath thermometer and decided to call us and let us know how important our prevention message was. She just wanted to let us know how much she appreciated what our organization was doing to educate moms on the dangers of scald burns and preventing those kinds of burns.

She is willing to do anything she can to help make a difference in preventing any other child going through what her baby has...the months in the hospital, the pain, the Jobst garments that will have to be worn for a year and the helplessness of a mother. No child should ever have to go through this. No mother should have to watch her child go through what her child did. A sibling that lights a match so he could be burned and be able to visit his brother in the hospital. With our education, maybe this won’t happen again.

I spoke with this mother for about an hour. She sincerely understands the need for this prevention. She has offered to write her story and help in any prevention effort she can.

We can’t ever put a dollar value on the many situations that we may not realize we have prevented! This is certainly why we do what we do and will continue to do so.

Please be sure to read the entire newsletter. We have a lot of new information to share with you!

Mary Werderitch
Executive Director, Illinois Fire Safety Alliance