The Annual Nebraska Fallen Firefighters Memorial Service honoring the firefighters, rescue personnel and auxiliary who passed away in 2010 will be held on September 10th at 8PM at the Nebraska Firefighters & EMS Memorial. Following the service, a candlelight vigil will commemorate the 10th anniversary of the tragedy of September 11th, 2001.

In a moment of vulnerability, I’ll admit… it’s overwhelming for me to consider the AMOUNT of loss that will be remembered during this upcoming hour and a half span of time. Not only through joining the nation in noting the many lives –spanning states, countries and nationalities — lost during the attack on America, but also in mourning with the number of Nebraskans, specifically, who are dealing with the loss of those who passed away during 2010 in our own state.

But overwhelming as it may be, I know that it’s important. So very important. Not only for the purpose of supporting the families whose lives will never be as they were prior to 2001 or prior to 2010, but also for each of us, for ME, personally. It causes me to remember the brevity of life. To notice the moments that I can make the most of now. Right now. This moment. This day.

So please, join us as we honor those lives. Those heroes who walked among us every day. Those everyday heroes who protected and rescued, demonstrated and educated, trained and explained how to stay safe from fires and fears. Let’s honor their lives. Let’s celebrate their choice to volunteer or to make a career of firefighting.

Let’s’ take this moment to not forget or take for granted those lives… those collections of moments… that made such a difference.

SO Exciting! We just hit our 10,000th customer milestone! Granted, we’ve had many more than that number on our campus, whether through birthday parties, special events, and visiting the Memorial, but if we’re going by the technical “paying customer” measurement — #10,000 came in yesterday morning!

Congratulations to Jordan & Leslie Felker of Kearney!

From July 1 to July 4, there is a temporary exhibit on display at our neighboring attraction on Archway Parkway in Kearney. The traveling Vietnam Memorial Wall is a somber reminder of the sacrifice that our courageous men and women in uniform pay in order to protect the peace and prosperity of our great country.

I’d like to just take a moment to encourage you to give honor where honor is due when you visit this exhibit. Treat it with the amount of respect that so many of you pay to the men and women honored in the Nebraska Firefighters & EMS Memorial on our campus.

This is a big deal, folks. Daily, life and death hangs in the balance when it comes to protecting Americans, whether from foreign threats or from fires, and we need to pay due respects to those who made the ultimate sacrifice so that we have the right to stand where we stand today.

Hats off to those in uniform… salute.

I just returned from an almost week-long conference in the historic town of Ypsilanti, MI, (that’s near Detroit, for those who haven’t heard of Ypsi yet!) in conjunction with the Fire Museum Network’s annual seminar.  It was 6 days packed with learning, both through informative sessions, roundtable discussions, networking person-to-person, and of course, my favorite part: the tours of other Museums!

We toured the beautiful Greenfield Village, the Ypsilanti Automotive Museum, The Henry Ford, the Ford Rouge Factory & Gallery, the Toledo Fire Museum, the Michigan Firehouse Museum, and the Hands-On Children’s Museum.

Amazing. Seriously. Just from looking at the exhibits and in talking with the other director, there were so many many sparks in my brain for NEW ideas and NEW possibilities for integrating creative ideas and unique learning opportunities into the Nebraska Firefighters Museum!

My passion in my position here is to facilitate interactive learning with regards to the history of firefighting and the tools of the trade, and to encourage the awareness of the need for daily practice of fire prevention activities. THERE ARE HUNDREDS OF WAYS TO DO THIS!

So, I’m excited to be able to hit the ground running now, to enhance the offerings of the Museum for kids of ALL ages, and I’d invite you to keep in touch with what’s happening here! I think you’ll like it… and hey, if you have some ideas of your own… SHARE them with me! Together, we can make the possibilities… realities!   

The sun is shining, traffic is picking up on the Interstate, it’s getting closer to Summer Break for the kiddos, so the Museum is now open for more hours on more days! Our hot new Spring hours of operation are 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM daily!

So, bring yourself, bring your family, bring your boyscout/girlscout/school group/church small group/professional organization/(anyone else you know that I missed!) to  the Nebraska Firefighters Museum & Education Center during ANY DAY OF THE WEEK! Come enjoy fun games & activities, learn interesting info and tidbits about Nebraska’s fire service and about the fire service in general!

Come find out:
- Why is the DALMATION known as the firefighters’ dog?
- Where are there FIRETRUCKS built here in Nebraska?
- What products that save lives were built in OVERTON, Nebraska?
- What is the #1 CAUSE of fires in our state?
- When was YOUR hometown’s fire department founded?
- Why was OCTOBER chosen as fire prevention education month?
…AND SO MUCH MORE!

I’ll be looking forward to seeing you all anytime this week, between 10 and 4, at the HOTTEST place in Nebraska!