The National Fallen Firefighters Foundation Rochester Area Committee welcomed 400 golfers to Deerfield Golf and Country Club on Clarkson-Parma Townline Road over the course of its two-day tournament held May 15 and 16. The annual event is in its fifteenth year of raising funds for the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation. This is one of two major fundraising events held every year in the Rochester area community. The other is the 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb in September.
The National Fallen Firefighters Foundation is located in Emmittsburg, Virginia, and is the home of the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial; a striking stone monument encircled by plaques listing the names of all members of the fire service who have died in the line-of-duty since 1981. The foundation’s mission is “to honor and remember America’s fallen fire heroes, to provide resources to assist their families in rebuilding their lives, and work within the fire service community to reduce firefighter deaths and injuries.”
The Rochester Area Annual Golf Tournament raises tens of thousands of dollars each year to support that mission while offering support to the Fire Hero Families as they travel from all over the country; some to golf while others get comfortable at different holes telling their story to the golfers as they pass by. Twenty-five families attended the tournament this year. They were honored and their loved ones remembered at the closing banquet each night and during the tournament with signs and banners all over the course.
Chief Ronald Siarnicki, Executive Director of the NFFF in a note to the golfers said: “Many of you today have been directly touched by the line-of-duty death of a firefighter. You have also seen at the darkest possible moment, the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation was there to help pick up the pieces, and it will continue to provide comfort and support to the survivors.”
Retired Fire Chief Randy Jensen, local committee chair, was seemingly overwhelmed at the number of golfers participating when he thanked the sponsors and supporters, the golfers and the volunteers and recognized the hero families present in the closing ceremony each day.
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Participants in the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation Golf Tournament
