President Paul J. Demasky, Jr. Thomas Nevin, Jr. Donald R. Evick

Past Chief Donald R. Evick of the Odenton Volunteer Fire Company (OVFC) has been a volunteer since 1978 and with 38 years of active and continuous service, he is most deserving of induction in the Hall of Fame.

Don grew up in a volunteer fire service family and like so many of us, has found that spirit in his blood with a drive that will not quit.  Despite his own father suffering a line-of-duty death when Don was 7 years old, this did not deter his spirit but in fact may have given him more of a personal drive to continue the service that his father so loved.

Don started his volunteer fire service career with the Jessup Volunteer Fire Company in 1978.  He later became a member of the OVFC in the spring of 1987.  Over the years, he rose through the ranks and served as Chief in 2010 and 2011.

Don is one of those members who is always forward-leaning and ready to volunteer his time and effort without hesitation.  Many times it takes just a simple comment or suggestion and he is already thinking about how to solve the problem or providing a solution.  On occasion, Don’s quick reaction and problem solving even seems to get him into trouble and he has to hold back.  It is usually written off to jealousy that he is just so conscientious and efficient in getting nearly any job done.

Because of Don’s career service with the US Corp of Engineers, he is often looked to as an expert and advisor by the company and has overseen such projects as major kitchen renovation, HVAC maintenance, bay door and floor replacements, roof repairs, and other such projects.  Don has long led the company mapping committee and regularly updates the response map information with hydrants and other water sources but also includes turn-by-turn instructions from the station’s front door to each of the hundreds of streets in the Odenton first-due area – which is growing by leaps and bounds every year.  Surrounding stations have also come to rely on Don’s detailed maps of new projects in the Odenton response area.

At the age of 68, many volunteer firefighters have hung up their suspenders and given up an active role in the response activities of their department.  After completing his term of office as Fire Chief, Don remains an active member of the department.  He recently became a grandparent and has somewhat slowed his response activity down, but he remains a dependable and reliable member of the company, sometimes helping out during daytime hours when staffing is short and always available to assist with special projects.

March 25, 2018
Anne Arundel County Volunteer Firefighters Association
Attn: Mr. Thomas M. Newquist, Jr.
Chairperson, Firefighter/EMT/Administrative Member of the
Quarter Committee
Dear Mr. Newquist;
The officers and members of the Odenton Volunteer Fire Company (OVFC) are extremely pleased to nominate Donald (Don) Evick for the Anne Arundel County Volunteer Firefighters Association's (AACVFA) Firefighter/EMT/Administrative Member of the Quarter Award.
  Don grew up in a volunteer fire service family and like so many of us, has found that spirit in his blood with a drive that will not quit. Despite his own father suffering a line-of-duty death when Don was seven years old, this did not deter his spirit but in fact may have given him more of a personal drive to continue the service that his father so loved.
  Don started his volunteer fire service career with the Jessup Volunteer Fire Company in 1978. He later became a member of the OVFC in the spring of 1987. Over the years, he rose through the operational ranks and served as our Fire Chief in 2010 and 2011.
  Don is one of those members who is always forward-leaning and ready to volunteer his time and effort without hesitation. Many times, it takes just a simple comment or suggestion and he is already thinking about how to solve the problem or providing a solution. On occasion, Don's quick reaction and problem solving even seems to get him into trouble and he has to hold back. It is usually written off to jealousy that he is just so conscientious and efficient in getting nearly any job done.
  Don's most recent contribution to the OVFC is the work that he put into the recent remapping of box areas by the Anne Arundel County Fire Department. Don has long led the company mapping committee and regularly updates the response map information with hydrants and other water sources but also includes turn-by-turn instructions from the station's front door to each of the hundreds of streets in the Odenton first-due area - which is growing by leaps and bounds every year. Sometimes, he can even be found on the streets with a measuring wheel, calculating the water supply hose length down long driveways and rural roads. Even our surrounding stations have come to rely on Don's detailed maps of new projects in the Odenton response area and quickly replace any county standardized maps on their units with ones produced by Don. During the recent remapping of box areas to coincide with the Computer-Aided-Dispatch (CAD) upgrade, Don put in countless hours to transition our current maps into the new box areas. Each map was touched with the same quality that we have come to enjoy over the years. Copies were then made for the station, each piece of apparatus, and for our surrounding mutual aid companies. Without Don's efforts, it is difficult to imagine what kind of maps we would have in our responding units. Not having complete and accurate information presents a risk to public safety as knowing where you are going and where your water sources are become vital bits of information during an emergency response.
  One other role that Don has taken leadership on over the past few years is his service as Chairperson of our Awards Committee. Thanks to Don's efforts, our company has been very successful in recognizing the contributions of our members at local, state, and national levels. As President, it is comforting to know that I have a dependable source that leads this effort on our behalf. Don is meticulous about deadlines for nominations and makes sure that each letter is drafted with the right words to
have our members recognized. In fact, Don has provided me a letter of nomination for another individual for this AACVFA
award but we are secretly holding that letter for a future quarter while we take the time to recognize Don for his efforts and
contributions to our company.
  At the age of 69, many volunteer firefighters have hung up their helmets and settled into their life member privileges and given up on active role in the response activities. Many even will avoid the administrative tasks that are necessary to operate a volunteer company. Don recently became a grandparent and decided it was time to "hang up his helmet" and remove himself from operational responder status. But he remains a dependable and reliable member of the company, helping out with committee work and special projects. Of special note is his contribution to the mapping project noted above.
  Don is a very dedicated, talented and valuable member of our organization, and we proudly submit him for consideration for the AACVFAFirefighter/EMT/Administrative Member of the
Quarter Award.
Respectfully submitted,
David W. Lewis
David W. Lewis
President