Each year, Sellersville Fire Department hosts an annual awards banquet to celebrate another year of volunteer service to our community. On Saturday, February 1, we celebrated with our local, state, and federal elected officials, along with leadership from neighboring fire departments. Our banquet also serves as a time to recognize our own members for their dedicated service to the department.

This year, Chuck Wagner was presented with the Malvin H. Blackwell Award for Distinguished Service. Ashley McElhare, a third generation SFD firefighter, received the Firefighter of the Year award. Jeff Allen, owner of A&T Chevrolet and Subaru, was recognized at the Citizen of the Year for his excellent support of our department along with the community as a whole.

Our top 25 responders were rewarded with brand new leather helmets as a way to say thank you for their time. These members woke up in the middle of the night, left dinner on the table, and changed many other plans throughout the year to respond to emergency dispatches. Our Ladies Auxiliary presented the department with several gifts, totaling $30,000. This money is generated from their continued fundraising efforts, and will be used for a variety of station improvements and operational expenses.

A giant thank you goes out to the members of the banquet committee for organizing a wonderful event. Special thanks goes out to the men and women of Perseverance Fire Company in Souderton for their assistance in serving the meal. We'd also like to thank Southampton Fire Company for covering our station in the event of an emergency dispatch.