Earlier this week, I attended the wake of Joseph Tomas, father of our Deputy Chief Rob Tomas. As I watched those coming to pay their respects to the family of this Navy Veteran and listened to the readings, I was left with one thought.
Service.
The word “service,” according to Merriam Webster, goes back to the 1500s—“Middle English service, servise ‘state of serving or being at someone's command, position in a household, duty which a tenant is owed to a lord, assistance, form followed in Christian worship, provision of food at a table…’" You will often hear us use the term “fire service” to refer to firefighting. Post 9/11, it became common for the general public to use the phrase “Thank you for your service” when they encountered members of the military as well as firefighters, law enforcement and EMS.
Personally, I am in awe of our veterans and active duty military personnel. I am thankful to live in a free country and know that some gave all and never came home protecting those freedoms. To Mr. Tomas, I say thank you. To our Dan Brennan who this month completed basic training at Paris Island, I say “Semper Fi” and wish him well as he continues on to basic riflemen then to Aircraft Fire Rescue Training. To the nurses that cared for Mr. Tomas, I was truly impressed by you coming to his wake and giving comfort to his family. What a gift to humanity to have caring individuals like nurses to comfort us during our recovery and then during our transition from this earthly existence.
I have lived in Nichols for 22 years and am happy that my wife and I raised our two children here—both were very active in youth sports. To those of you that took time to serve as a coach, team mom, parent volunteer, etc…Thank you. That time was well spent and helped shape my children and countless others. To those that volunteer at your church as greeter or Sunday school teacher, thank you. That is a service to our community. To our local elected officials that volunteer their time on committees and commissions, I thank you as well. While I may not always agree with all of your decisions and would always like lower taxes, I do recognize the hours away from home for meetings and events, and think you do have our best interest at heart. We have several members of the fire department that work for Trumbull DOT, State DOT as well as other town DOTs. As we enter winter, I am thankful for the service you provide clearing the streets and salting them—especially since I have two teen drivers now. I am most appreciative of the leaf pick up each year, however, I don’t like the years my quadrant of town is first. Let's start in the north part of town and save Nichols to the end.
I often hear people lament the state of the world and wondering what they can do to change things. Simple: serve and be of service. Not everyone is called to serve in the military or go into burning buildings. It takes a special person to want to get into law enforcement or become a nurse. Think local. There are plenty of ways to be of service to your neighbors in Nichols. Find something of interest and share your time. You will get far more out of what you put into it.
I have been in the fire service for 35 years now. I am honored to be the Chief of the Nichols Fire Department as of this past November. I had no idea when I was 18 and first joined the Wilton Fire Department that it would end up pointing me to the insurance industry where I have worked for 28 years. I have had the great fortune of training and interacting with dozens of Trumbull’s finest young men and women who have gone on to careers in the fire service, police, EMS, military, nursing, college and the trades. The fire house is a great apprenticeship to adulthood. At its heart, we teach them how to help serve their fellow man. We are at our best when we are of service to each other.
As Alexa pointed out in her blog post earlier this month on New Year’s Resolutions, giving back to the community is a common resolution people have. While I’d love for everyone to come join the Nichols Fire Department, I know it's not for everyone. But as I pointed out there are so many ways for you to impact your fellow residents here in Nichols. Do your part and find some way to make Nichols stay special. If the fire service is calling you or if you have a young person you want to send our way, go to https://www.nicholsfire.com/volunteer to learn more or simply stop by the back of Station 1 on a Saturday morning for a cup of coffee.
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