Newsletter
MESS CALL #3 Chief Terry Cox
A Busy Spring.
This will be a busy spring for MESS and its members. In the last 60 days MESS units have responded to 15 incidents. We recorded more than 850 people were served food and drinks from our Canteens. The over 20 new members are quickly finding out their training from CERT has added new dimension to their lives. Their presence have been beneficial to MESS as well. Coming from Buffalo Grove, Des Plaines, Gurnee, and Round Lake, these new members have fit well with our “Old Guys”.
We are serving for a lot of events.
Fourteen different organizations requested our services. The unique thing is only one agency is named but with mutual aid as it is, people from 10 to15 other agencies come to the canteens for food and drink. When the fire, demonstration, training or many other events die down, Rehab gets busy. At wild land burns, police activities and training events it is not unusual to serve 100 plus personnel. Mess is better at handling these large events with ease. The fact we have been busy has made training easier and the people are learning what we have known for years; that this is a fun and needed function. The best training for MESS is on the job, not in the classroom.
We expect to be busy all summer.
Events that are upcoming will be just as challenging; we have statewide training for the Illinois Terrorism Task Forces, at least 8 burn downs, some open houses, other public educational activities, and parades in the near future.
MESS HAS NEW “T” SHIRTS.
In April mess members were offered the opportunity to obtain an added means to be identified in the staging and rehab areas. Our board-of-directors were kind enough to underwrite part of the costs of this project. With shirts the same color as the jackets, people can readily I.D. our members quickly and the added safety is a plus.
Thank You 714 Mike Reisman.
Sadly we need to report one of our 5-year members Mike Reisman, (714), has found it necessary to resign for medical reasons. We wish Mike and his family the best and if we can help we are only a phone call away.
Fleet Maintenance
Tom Long and his helpers have been busy keeping the trucks in good working order.
With an aging fleet, this is sometimes a challenge. If you are mechanically inclined and would like to help I am sure he could use your help.
Canteen #6
This new truck is coming right along. Repairs have been done to the fuel system. The propane system has been tested and repaired, the lighting system has been put into working order, a serving window has been installed and the radios will be in shortly.
We will still need to install a freezer, shelving, complete inventory, a cooking stove, and more items as required.
Thank You
We would like to thank all of you from the Board of Directors for all the fine work you have performed in the past and look forward to improving our services in the future.
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