The Reporter newspaper, Camdenton Missouri

The Reporter covers Miller, Morgan and Camden County in Central Missouri's Lake of the Ozarks and is published once per week on Wednesdays.

Published April 29, 2015

Chief Reilly keynote speaker at convention

By Jeff Thompson
OSAGE BEACH - Sunrise Beach Fire Chief Dennis Reilly will be the keynote speaker at the 2015 Firefighters Association of Missouri (FFAM) annual convention starting this Friday at Tan-Tar-A Resort.

Hosted by the Lake Area Emergency Services Association, the convention - set for May 1-3 - covers a wide variety of events for attending firefighters and their families.

“A weekend of training, competition, vendors, socials and banquets is on the agenda,” according to the Osage Beach Fire Protection District. “The convention will bring over 350 people to the lake for the weekend and is being hosted by the lake area fire departments.”

Special events at the 61st FFAM Convention include:
* Parade and car show on The Bagnell Dam Strip in Lake Ozark on Friday evening;
* Firefighter games on Saturday morning;
* Fire Boat rides on Saturday afternoon; and
* Memorial service early Sunday morning.

The Sunrise Beach Fire Chief’s keynote topic will be “Many Twists and Many Turns: Navigating the Road to Personal Excellence.”

Fire Chief Reilly brings 40 years of fire service experience to his keynote address, having served the last three years for the Sunrise Beach Fire Protection District.

He is a retired Battalion Chief from Cherry Hill, N. J., was one of the original members of the New Jersey State Urban Search & Rescue Task Force and operated as a rescue squad officer at Ground Zero after the terrorist attacks in New York City on Sept. 11, 2001.

In addition to his firefighter career, Reilly is a U.S. Army veteran with over six years on active duty as both a combat medic and flight medic with a tour of duty during the first Gulf War and multiple deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan.

Locally, the fire chief continues to leave his mark on the Sunrise Beach Fire Protection District.

“Chief Reilly has been instrumental in leading Sunrise Beach through a complicated series of organizational changes,” a spokesman said. “The district has increased its levy rate, added career staff, enhanced its ISO rating and is investigating the possibility of accreditation from the Center for Public Service Excellence.”

He holds an Associate Degree in Fire Protection, a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science, and a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from Penn State.

For more information contact lake area fire protection districts or go online to http://obfire.com/2015-ffam-convention or http://laesa.org/.

The Lake Area Emergency Service Association (LAESA) is a local association made up of fire districts and departments, emergency medical services agencies, law enforcement agencies and emergency management.

LAESA meets bi-monthly at different locations around the lake area to discuss a variety of issues such as operational issues, training and code enforcement.