Hometown Heroes celebrated in Lower Merion

With the solemn but stirring sound of bagpipes, the Main Line Chamber of Commerce kicked off its fourth annual Celebration of Hometown Heroes Tuesday night at the Lower Merion Township Building.

The board room was nearly filled with fellow volunteers and proud families, as the business organization and its charitable arm, the Main Line Chamber Foundation, awarded its largest amount of scholarship support yet to 24 young firefighters, representing a dozen area fire companies from Malvern to Bala Cynwyd to Havertown.

In a real sense, it was, as event emcee Brenda Viola said, a glimpse into the future of a Main Line tradition of selfless service to communities. But this 2013 edition of the program also spanned generations, as the chamber made special presentations to the Llanerch Fire Co., marking its centennial year, and to Malvern Fire Co. volunteer Joseph LeBresco, still answering the call to help his neighbors after 60 years.

In 2013, through its primary fundraiser, the Main Line Chamber Run, and the major support of GIANT Markets and Wells Fargo bank, the assistance to student firefighters totals $39,000. That amount has grown each year since 2006, when it awarded $6,000 in scholarships, said chamber foundation President Matthew Donahoe. The public celebration was added in 2010, stepping up not only chamber volunteers' own efforts, but public awareness of the volunteer nature of fire service in the area, Donahoe said.

"We look forward to this event every year because it is clear and direct justification as to why we spend the hours we do volunteering for the foundation," he told the honorees. "How are we able to grow [the support]? Simply because of you, because of your daily commitment to our community."

"You give us the stories to tell" to the Main Line community, Donahoe said, assuring them, "Year after year, they are listening."

Among those stories are those of this year's two recipients of Thomas J. Hays Memorial Scholarships, top awards of $3,000. They honor the memory of a beloved volunteer with the Merion Fire Co. of Ardmore and the Narberth Fire Co., Tom Hays, who died in 2006 at 25 after answering a call.

One of the recipients, Patrick Kelly of the Oakmont Fire Co., could not be present "for the noblest of reasons:" He is serving his sixth deployment to Afghanistan in five years. His father, Mike Kelly, vice president at Oakmont, who Patrick wrote had inspired his service, accepted the award on his son's behalf.

Elizabeth Schew of the Berwyn Fire Co., also received a top award. A 2011 graduate of Conestoga High School, she is pursuing a degree in fire science administration and fire/arson investigation at the University of New Haven, and volunteers with a local Connecticut company while in school.

Each of the other 22 scholarship winners had inspiring stories to tell of their motivation to serve. Some come from a multi-generational tradition of fire service; others are first generation firefighters and emergency responders. Three pairs of siblings were among this year's recipients, while others follow siblings as volunteers.

Here are just a few of their stories:

Dylan Cullen of the Llanerch Fire Co. is a pre-med student at Franklin & Marshall College. In his first year of service, he was the top single "runner" with his company, answering 100 fire calls and serving 200 hours as an Emergency Medical Service responder. In his scholarship essay, he said he had been inspired to join by an older brother. At 10, receiving a fire scanner as a Christmas present, he would "chase" fire calls on his bike. "That's how I saw that firefighters could bring order to a chaotic scene," he said.

Thomas Fitzgerald joined the Malvern Fire Co. in 2009 and has already been promoted to lieutenant and serves as a training officer. He said it is "the faces of the people you help that stick with you."

Mikaela Fowler, a nursing student at Delaware County Community College, and brother Nillaas Fowler, also a DCCC student, of the Manoa Fire Co., both said they wanted to follow in the footsteps of their father, a 30-year volunteer.

For Daniel Gershman, also of Manoa, it was a personal experience that inspired him to serve. It was a volunteer who saved his brother's life after a catastrophic car accident.

Vincent Miller of Berwyn Fire Co., may have boasted the largest family legacy in fire service: his father, uncle, wife, brother and cousins have all served, while his grandmother, mother and aunt have been members of the company's auxiliary. His drive to volunteer was "cemented when answering a call to rescue three individuals trapped in a vehicle accident."

Looking out at the group, Viola said she wanted to thank the parents of these young people. "Look what you have produced," she said. "These are our hometown heroes. These are bright, shining glimpses of the future around the Main Line."

Viola will herself be honored on June 26 with the Main Line Chamber of Commerce's Karl Schauffele Community Service Award, recognizing her role in launching the volunteer fire service awareness program as a member of the Leadership Main Line Class of 2004. It was Viola, the former public information officer for Lower Merion Township, now working in the private sector, who also proposed a public Celebration of Hometown Heroes program four years ago. The full list of scholarship recipients is:

$1,500 Scholarship Honorees:

Dylan Cullen, Llanerch Fire Co.
Edmund Fenton, Union Fire Assoc. and Narberth Fire Co.
Thomas Fitzgerald, Malvern Fire Co.
Mikaela Fowler, Manoa Fire Co.
Nillaas Fowler, Manoa Fire Co.
Daniel Gershman, Manoa Fire Co.
Ashley Jameison, Manoa Fire. Co.
Eric M. Javie, Berwyn Fire Co.
Drew Kopicki, Penn Wynne Fire Co.
James Krider, Oakmont Fire Co.
Brady McHale, Gladwyne Fire Co.
Hunter B. McMullin, Merion Fire Co. of Ardmore
Justin McNabb, Bryn Mawr Fire Co.
Vincent J. Miller, Berwyn Fire Co.
Joseph Sobel, Narberth Ambulance, Volunteer Medical Service Corps
James Statts, Radnor Fire Co.
Laura Statts, Radnor Fire Co.
Jonathan Sweeney, Oakmont Fire Co.
Kevin R. Sweeney, Oakmont Fire Co.
Joseph E. Treadway, Radnor Fire Co.
Carl Weisbecker, Berwyn Fire Co.
John P. Welsh, Llanerch Fire Co.

$3,000 Thomas J. Hays Memorial Scholarship Honorees:

Patrick Kelly, Oakmont Fire Co.
Elizabeth Schew, Berwyn Fire Co.

Source: Main Line Media News (http://www.mainlinemedianews.com)
Photos: Courtesy of Eva Pastor, BFC Business Member