: Fire 2020 :: Monthly E-Newsletter Issue No.4 :

September 2008

	Focus on Leadership Walking the Talk on Recruiting & Retaining Diversity
		Debra Amesqua has 25 years of fire service experience—the last twelve as Fire Chief in Madison, Wisconsin. At the time of her appointment, she was one of only seven women chiefs among the 32,000 fire departments in the country. Debra has developed and presented a number of workshops and authored several professional papers on subjects related to executive officer career development and building a learning organization in the fire service. She has been a member of the IAFC Human Relations Committee for six years and is a past president of the Women Chief Fire Officers Association. Debra is Vice President of FIRE 20/20’s Board. You can check out the rest of her impressive credentials on our website at fire2020.org. In 2007, according to an IAFF research study, the Madison Fire Department was listed as the #1-most diverse fire department in the U.S. Debra obviously ‘walks the talk' on recruiting and retaining diversity. Read more >>
	San Jose Fire Department (SJFD) tracks languages encountered during emergency responses. Alberto Olmos, president of the National Association of Hispanic Firefighters (NAHF) and a captain in SJFD believes that all fire departments should do the same. In April, on behalf of NAHF, he submitted a resolution to CFSI (Congressional Fire Services Institute) and it was passed unanimously. Alberto says that “the resolution is a tool which provides fact-based data that departments can use to support funding for training, staffing, and multilingual fire prevention programs.” We agree!
	This Month's Articles
	Why I Chose Fire^TM: A Targeted Recruitment Video “The International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) is committed to recruiting and retaining a qualified, diverse, safe and competent fire service. Our Human Resources committee and our Board of Directors have reviewed FIRE 20/20’s “Why I Chose Fire” video. We feel it is an excellent piece that articulates key recruitment messages. IAFC supports FIRE 20/20 giving the “Why I Chose Fire” video to departments to integrate into their recruitment efforts.” Thanks to sponsorships from Lion Apparel, Scott Health & Safety, TenCate Southern Mills, and PBI Performance Products, on Monday, September 15^th, we will start streaming Why I Chose Fire on our website. Our goal is to help inform, inspire and motivate qualified, diverse, inclusive, safe and competent Generation Y individuals to explore and consider a fulfilling career in Fire/EMS. Future diverse firefighters need role models to whom they can relate. With a running time of six minutes, there are interviews that feature men of color and female firefighters and paramedics who love their jobs! Animation and portions of the upbeat song “A Dream” by rapper Common ‘speak’ to a diverse Generation Y.
	Minorities Becoming ‘The Majority’ Sooner Than Anticipated By Sam Roberts \| Published in www.nytimes.com on August 13, 2008 While at FRI in August, newspapers headlined the latest U.S. Census Bureau’s calculations that by 2042, Americans who identify themselves as Hispanic, black, Asian, American Indian, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander will together outnumber non-Hispanic whites. That shift had previously been projected to happen by 2050.
	In-kind sponsor, DiversityInc, publishes a monthly magazine and has an online site that “provides news, resources and commentary on the role of diversity in strengthening the corporate bottom line.” While we're from the non-profit, public service world, we have found new learning and pearls of wisdom and had ah-hah moments! Take advantage of a FIRE 20/20 sponsored electronic subscription—at no cost—to DiversityInc magazine at http://www.diversityinc.com/fire2020 .

	Visit us online, anytime at http://www.fire2020.org Copyright © 2008 FIRE 20/20. All rights reserved.

	Partner Perspective TV Worldwide TV Worldwide, founded in 1999 by CEO Dave Gardy, is the Internet’s first TV network. It focuses on helping customers successfully create, promote, leverage and distribute streaming media content online. Read more >>
	Recent and Upcoming Events Urban League 2^nd Annual Diversity Summit San Diego, California September 8-10, 2008 Larry Sagen is presenting Diversity is a Prevention Strategy: A Value Proposition for Diversity in Fire/EMS at the Urban League’s Second Annual Diversity Summit – Moving Beyond Talk to Action: Creating a Diverse 1st Century Organization in San Diego at the NTC Promenade Center. Fire Marshal Roundtable Spokane, Washington October 22, 2008 Larry Sagen and Jan Doherty will present and facilitate an interactive conversation titled, Prevention Out-Of-The Box: Customers as Partners.
	Your Opinion In the August issue, we asked you to give us your opinion on whether you believe the workplace culture in your department is exclusionary or inclusive for women. Survey Results *Exclusionary for women* Highly Disagree 10% Somewhat Disagree 40% Neutral 10% Somewhat Agree 40% *Inclusive for women* Somewhat Disagree 40% Neutral 10% Somewhat Agree 40% Highly Agree 10%
	FIRE 20/20 Welcomes TenCate and PBI Performance Products Inc. as Our Newest Sponsors TenCate and PBI have become sponsors of Why I Chose Fire and the training program, Recruiting & Retaining Diversity. Thanks for supporting a diverse and inclusive workplace!