Chili Fire Department

I have had the pleasure of volunteering with some of the greatest brothers (and sisters!) in Monroe County for close to nine years now. We have seen a lot together, and there has been great leadership within the Chili Fire Department who have helped mentor me from the time I first joined as a Fire and EMS explorer. Mark Thomas, Don Johnson, Keith Schwab, John Spaulding and Ron Price just to name a few. Have you ever considering volunteering at your local fire department? Let me tell you- it is an exhilarating, heart-pounding experience every time I jump on the rig. However, it is more than about fighting fires, there is something deeper, intrinsic and personal that I get out of my time spent at the firehouse. It is great knowing that I make a difference just by being there to lend a hand. So I encourage you...in fact... implore you, give back to the community in some way. Rochester is known for the spirit of volunteering- have you caught the bug?

Interested in joining the Chili Fire Department? Well there are two option. Either submit your interest online here; New Member Interest Form or call the on-duty dispatcher at 889-2427.

Don't worry about not having prior experience- all training is paid for by the county or done interdepartmentally. Through this experience of a lifetime you will develop a background of knowledge that covers aspects of basic firefighting skills such as theory of fire, fire suppression, ladders, and ventilation techniques. Scared of heights? Well we are always in need of qualified people to help out with ground operations.... fact is, you will never know what you are capable until you try- so get out there and do it!

Interested in becoming an Emergency Medical Technician and ride on the ambulance? Or are you between the ages of 14-18 and looking to join the Explorer post? Or do you just want more information?! Click on the link above to submit a request for further info- you'll be glad you did!

Break of Reality

I must say… I was blown away tonight. I went out to Spot Coffee to do some homework and the doors were almost bursting with people onto the street. Inside, a classical metal band was playing an amazing, intense, heart pounding song- nothing like I’ve heard before. The band was extremely animated as their sound exploded around them. I’ve only purchased a few local CDs from band before… because most are typically only semi-decent cover bands, but it is rare that they have their own material. I was hooked. I approached the table set up with CDs after only listening to the first two minutes of a song- even before buying my coffee. I didn’t flinch in the slightest when the sales guy said it was $15. Now I am an avid music listener of all genres of music, but being a full-time student my music budget is usually limited to used CDs at Record Archive for $5’s. I had to have this. However, after purchasing the CD and sitting down to begin reading my Professional Selling textbook for class- Saturday night and I’m doing homework…. – the set ended. I had just missed one of the best bands play in Rochester, for free mind you, and couldn’t have been more disappointed. I struggled to finish the chapter I was on- I wanted to get into my car to blast this CD on my ride home. Of course, I had to thank the band for a great performance and get the CD autographed. I see this band going places! One last thing I did before I left was approach the manager at Spot Coffee to see if this band was paid for their performance. However, I was shocked when I found out that they only received $50! They could have easily packed that place and still charged admission! So my recommendation was for Spot to purchase 5-10 of their CDs and pass them along to people that have never heard of the band before or have influence in the local music scene. It was duly noted, but I don’t think anything will come of it. So, who is this band that I have raved about? The band is named Break of Reality and I have what I believe to be their debut CD entitled The Sound Between. http://www.breakofreality.com and http://myspace.com/breakofreality . Visit the site and listen to their CD!


Yet, this band is not going to stay locally once they graduate this May. They will move down to NYC much like many of Eastman School of Music Graduates to make it big. As part of my capstone course for my International Business and Marketing degree we have formed groups to develop a venture capital marketing report. I am fortunate to have 4 well educated, international friends to pursue the topic of our choice. Being from Rochester and realizing that drastic changes are needed to retain the youth and the graduates, we have decided to take on the “Retain the Brains” challenge that ran for a few years up until 2005. This was recommended by Chris Hysek who has had some involvement with the previous organizers. After experiencing this amazing, albeit short performance, I realized that local, original music is part of the package that Rochester needs to develop. We have some of the top national and international universities in the area, but a declining job rate and many students don’t plan on staying in the area. Our goal is going to develop a plan to help stem off the loss or at least shine the light on blighted areas that can be enhanced. More on this later.

Oh, and I forgot to mention... their last local show in Rochester is 9pm Wednesday, April 18 at Roberts Wesleyan in the Hale Auditorium. Make sure you go!