Member Login

Save the Date!
2023 Annual Conference


October 18-21, 2023
Duluth

Committee: Conference

Contact: Don Johnson, Chair - [email protected]

2022 Mission: The mission of the Conference Committee is to provide leadership and direction to the Executive Director, who is responsible for managing the annual conference in October of each year. This committee exists to make sure the needs of the membership, as it pertains to the conference, are met. This committee interfaces with the Education Committee, the Marketing Committee and vendor representatives to ensure that a quality conference is offered at an affordable cost. Every effort is made to ensure exceptional educational offerings for all attendees.

2022 Report: Welcome back to Duluth in 2022. After a hiatus due to the COVID pandemic, 2021 saw near record attendance for both attendees and vendors. The Conference Committee looks forward to carrying that momentum into the upcoming 2022 conference. The conference format will remain very similar to last year, with a few minor adjustments based upon survey feedback from you.

For those arriving in Duluth early, please join us for a welcome reception on Wednesday evening. This is a great opportunity to pick up your registration materials and network with fellow conference attendees. Following the opening ceremony and symposium on Thursday,
you are welcome to spend time visiting with our host of vendors. There will be plenty of apparatus, equipment, and services on display. Please stop by and thank our vendors for their support of our conference. Closing out the day on Thursday is the president’s reception, a great opportunity to socialize with peers and vendors alike.

Throughout the day on Friday, there will be several educational tracks offered. The educational tracks will offer a wide variety of topics ranging from lessons learned, to leadership, and an administrative support track. During lunch on Friday, the annual business meeting will be held. As a member driven organization, your attendance and voice are important at the business meeting in helping guide the future of our organization. Following the educational tracks, the annual Memorial Service will pay honor to current and former members of the MSFCA that have passed away over the past year. Concluding the evening is the Awards Banquet which will allow us the opportunity to recognize those members of our association or other individuals who have made significant contributions to better our fire service.

Concluding the conference on Saturday morning is another educational symposium session. This session will mark the end of our 2022 conference. In the weeks following the conference you will receive an electronic survey. Please take a few moments of your time to provide the conference committee with feedback on your overall experience so that we can make improvements where necessary. Your feedback is invaluable in helping us improve our future conference offerings.

It has been my pleasure to serve this organization as the Conference Chair since 2015. In my tenure I have had the pleasure of working with many of the same committee members, and a few new ones, and a couple of different Executive Director teams to plan out our most important event for this organization. I will truly miss being involved. At the end of the conference last year, I had indicated to President Cunningham that I would be stepping down after the 2022 conference. I vowed to ensure a solid team would remain to continue the great work down for so many years. This year’s team will be in a transitional period thanks to some new members stepping up and current members taking on other roles.

Fire Chief Andrew Heger of Victoria was appointed the Co- Chair of this year’s conference and has been active in assisting the committee during the planning of this year’s conference. Chief Heger has been the Memorial Service Coordinator on the committee for the past five years. Assistant Chief Bob Jacobs of Zimmerman has agreed to move into that role and will be assisting Chief Heger this year to learn the ropes.

Fire Chief Rodger Coppa of Plymouth will be working with Battalion Chief Jessica Hoffman of Eagan on a transition of the Awards Banquet Coordinator who will be assuming that role for the 2023 conference. Fire Chief Coppa will be stepping away from the committee to pursue other interests.

Thank you to all the attendees and sponsors who make this event successful. Without your participation, this conference would not be the success that it is. Again, on behalf of the conference committee, we look forward to welcoming you to Duluth in 2022. Please enjoy your visit.

2022 Conference Committee Members

Chair: Don Johnson, Fire Chief, Chanhassen Fire Dept. [email protected]

Sarah Cody, Firefighter, Chaska Fire Dept.

Rodger Coppa, Fire Chief, Plymouth Fire Dept.

Dennis Edwards, Asst. Chief, Duluth Fire Dept.

Andrew Heger, Fire Chief, Victoria Fire Dept.

Jessica Hoffman, Battalion Chief, Eagan Fire Dept.

Bob Jacobs, Asst. Chief, Zimmerman/Livonia Fire District Mike Dobesh, Fire Chief, Richfield Fire Dept. (Health & Safety Liaison)

Steve Koering, Fire Chief, St. Louis Park Fire Dept. (Marketing Liaison)

Mike Scott, Fire Chief (Ret.), Eagan Fire Dept. (Vendor Liaison) Dale Specken, Fire Chief, Hopkins Fire Dept. (Education Liaison)

 

Conference Committee File Library