Total Raised - $3271

Thursday, June 9, 2011

The Music City



Assistant Chief Jerry Smith met me in Nashville on his own Harley, and I followed him to Station 9, affectionately referred to as "Bottoms". These guys are a busy, tradition filled house, with 2 engines, a truck, a medic and a District Chief rolling out of the door non-stop. District Chief Travis Ford was my guide for the night. A 26 year veteran of the Nashville FD, and a longtime resident of Bottoms, Chief Ford serves in the city's busiest district (he'd already been to a fire before I showed up) and is the author of the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation's Fire & Emergency Services Safety & Survival. Chief Ford, who is a colorful guy to say the least, took me to downtown, where the Country Music Association's yearly CMA Fest was kicking off with a free concert.
Before returning home, we took in a box alarm, with Chief Ford doing his best impression of a Nascar driver. We beat the first due chief in, of course.

The morning started with a fine Tennessee breakfast -

 Assistant Chief Smith stopped by to pick me up, and took me to the city's Training Academy to meet Trey Nelms, who's awesome training videos can be found HERE. It's like the Volunteer State's version of Traditions Training! Trey (red shorts) was "taking it easy" on the recruits...
Before I left, I got some shots of the old Nashville rigs being washed for the CMA Fest parade, and a framed poem titled "WELCOME TO HELL" that hangs on the wall at Bottoms:
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M.O.C.A.

Motorcycling for Ovarian Cancer Awareness

This summer, I’m riding my Harley across the country and back in 16 days. I’ll be stopping at firehouses along the way to promote awareness about ovarian cancer, because everyone should know the symptoms. While the fire department is a field dominated by men, we have mothers, wives, daughters, girlfriends, and sisters.

I’m asking you to support my journey by donating to the HERA Women's Cancer Foundation. My goal is to raise $6000 for HERA’s mission, a dollar for every mile I ride. They have set up a webpage for me where you can make a tax-deductible donation. HERA is not supporting my journey financially. All of the proceeds that HERA receives will go directly towards their mission. Through a combination of corporate sponsorship and my own funds, I will cover the expenses associated with my journey.

To find out more about HERA and their efforts to stop the loss of women from ovarian cancer, visit their website, www.herafoundation.org

-Oleg