Patricia A. "Patti" Kidwell
Odenton Volunteer Fire Company

2019 Individual of the Year
 

Mr. Nevin and Fellow Trustees:

            The officers and members of the Odenton Volunteer Fire Company (OVFC) are extremely proud to nominate Patricia A. (Patti) Kidwell for the Anne Arundel County Volunteer Firefighters Association’s (AACVFA) Fire, Rescue, EMS Individual of the Year Award for 2019.  Patti has been a valuable contributor to the volunteer fire service in Anne Arundel County and across the State of Maryland for 45 years.

            Patti began her fire service career when she joined the Bel Alton Volunteer Fire Department Ladies Auxiliary in Charles County at age 17 in 1974.  In 1983 she got married, moved to Laurel, and joined the Maryland City Volunteer Fire Department (MCVFD) Ladies Auxiliary.  She was extremely active at Maryland City, serving as the president of the Ladies Auxiliary for 15 years and is a Life Member of that auxiliary.  Patti coordinated many fundraisers for the auxiliary and the fire company and was the chairperson for the annual fire department awards banquet for many years.  She created the Ladies Auxiliary President’s Award and the Auxiliary Member of the Year Award.  Recognizing the need for a fire department historian, she assembled several books of news articles, photographs, and programs which document the contributions and activities of the MCVFD.  She also wrote the department’s history which was included in the Maryland State Firemen’s Association Centennial Book.

            She gradually got more involved with the AACVFA and the AACVFA Ladies Auxiliary (AACVFALA) while at Maryland City, regularly attending meetings of both organizations.  She served on many AACVFALA committees, including Publicity, Pins and Badges, Constitution and Hall of Fame.  She moved through the AACVFALA leadership chairs, becoming President in 1991-1992.  Patti chaired the 75^th Anniversary Committee for the Ladies Auxiliary in May 2013 and spent countless hours compiling historical information for the program.  She also suggested the Ladies Hall of Fame Committee be established in early 1994 and has served on that committee since its inception. The “Buddy Bear” program was also established and managed by Patti.  Although this program ended in 2007 due to lack of funding, it provided a small teddy bear to children who were transported by County medical units.  For her countless contributions, she was inducted into the AACVFALA Hall of Fame in 1994.

            Patti transferred to the OVFC Ladies Auxiliary in 2001, ready to take on new challenges.  She has held several offices and has been on many committees.  She participates in the various Ladies’ fundraising events and community service projects. Whenever a project is initiated that needs the Ladies’ help, Patti is often the first to step forward and offer assistance. To aid the OVFC Ladies Auxiliary in establishing an income source, Patti started the spring and fall craft fairs which bring in many vendors to show and sell their crafts while producing a funding stream for the OVFC Ladies Auxiliary.

            Patti’s contributions to the Ladies Auxiliary has not stopped at the local or County level.  She has served on numerous committees of the Ladies Auxiliary to the Maryland State Firemen’s Association (LAMSFA), including Pins and Badges, Bessie Marshall, Credentials, Page, and Ways and Means.  She continues to serve on the Publicity and Length of Service Award Program Committees.  In recognition of her service across the State of Maryland she was inducted in the LAMSFA Hall of Fame in 2011.

            Although Patti’s true love was for the auxiliary side of the fire company, she recognized a need for administrative support to the fire company and in October 2016, she joined OVFC as an administrative member.  She has been a key member of our History and Archives Committee.  She has expended a great deal of time and effort to read more than fifty years of minutes and banquet programs to compile a history of our fire company, which will be added to our company website in the near future.  Patti also created a searchable file of the officers and members of our fire company since its founding in 1931.  She participates in all of our fundraising activities, including bull roasts, carnival, and Food Truck Thursdays.  She is also an active member of the Awards, Banquet and Public Information Committees.

Patti took an interest in the activities of the AACVFA very early and started attending each monthly meeting of the Association. She takes detailed notes at the Association meetings for Odenton to report back at our monthly general membership meetings. These notes are often more detailed than the published minutes issued by the Association and we have grown to count on these notes as a record of discussions and decisions of the AACVFA.

            Patti is also very active in the AACVFA, serving on the Hall of Fame, Convention Book, and Public Relations Committees.  She has served as the secretary of the Hall of Fame Committee for over five years.  During this time, Patti researched information for over fifty Association members who were in the Hall of Fame but had no write-ups.  This was a very involved process, but the end result was very impressive and showed the dedication and commitment of all those that had been inducted.  She has been on the Convention Book Committee for many years, collecting and organizing all of the needed reports and information for the book.  She has researched valuable information which has been added to the Convention Book, including biographies of the presidents of the AACVFA and the AACVFALA, where the conventions have been held over the years, members with over fifty years of service, and three or more generations of County fire service.  Countless hours are spent each year on these efforts to enable the Association to publish a quality annual convention book.  She also compiled a historical information book of data that was in previous Convention Books that should be retained in a permanent file for reference.  Lastly, she is co-chair of the Public Relations Committee, publicizing the activities of the members companies of the Association.  For all of her many contributions, Patti was inducted into the AACVFA Hall of Fame in 2015.  She is one of only three individuals to be inducted in both the AACVFA and the AACVFALA Halls of Fame!

            As clearly evident from all of her accomplishments above, Patti has an outstanding record of support to our fire company, the County Association and the ladies’ auxiliaries at the company, County and State levels.  Patti is one of those "behind the scenes" people who is always there to help when needed in so many roles and seeks no attention for her efforts.  Therefore, the officers and members of the Odenton Volunteer Fire Company are extremely proud to nominate Patti Kidwell for the Fire, Rescue, EMS Individual of the Year Award for 2019. 

Respectfully submitted,

Craig B. Harman, President
Odenton Volunteer Fire Company, Inc.