CORRECTION: Um, that was Ray Senn
Oops, we mixed up the winners of the Fire Service Personnel Award
Yikes, we mixed up the winners of the Fire Service Personnel Award. Here’s the corrected version:
Fire Service Personnel of the Year: Ray Senn and Joe Pogar
The evening started out with an award for Fire Service Personnel of the Year, which went to longtime volunteer reservists, Ray Senn and Joe Pogar—who after many years as fire department volunteers became guardians of Sebastopol’s fire hydrants.
Assistant Fire Chief Steve Thibodeau gave a brief introduction to their service to the department. “Ray started in 1979 and served the community through the late 90s, and then he went to a reserve position. And you would think once you go to a reserve position that you would kind of slow down a little bit. Well, Ray didn’t slow down at all. He and Joe took on the hydrant program in Sebastopol—so all those cool-looking silver and blue hydrants you guys see around town. This man right here, Ray, and Joe Pogar flow tested those, painted them, and took care of all those hydrants for years and years and years.”
Senn thanked the city, the chamber, and his family, especially his wife, for putting up with his volunteer fire department work over the years “because getting up at four o’clock in the morning, you know, just doesn’t sit well with some people.”
See our July 2024 story on Pogar and Senn here.
Apologies to Ray and Joe for the mix-up.
I ran into Ray and Joe running the fire hydrant one morning while walking my dog. They turned out to be great story tellers. Maybe Sebastopol Times could run a little follow up article explaining what the meaning of the color of the paint they brush on after a successful teat.