Two retirees and one Fireman of the Year were honored Saturday, Jan. 25, at the Maple Lake Fire Department’s annual banquet.
Bill Fobbe and Joe Rassat were recognized for their decades of service to the community and the department before the anticipated revealing of this year’s Firefigher of the Year. Shane Caughey did the honors, drawing Tom Neu to the front of the crowded room under the pretense of a game before announcing his true motive – to present him with the Firefighter of the Year award.
Neu thanked everyone in a brief acceptance speech before posing for photographs with Fire Chief Steve Peterson. He also gave a special thanks to “the wives” and “all the retired guys who set the foundation for all we do.”
The annual banquet kicked off Saturday evening at the Maple Lake American Legion with a social hour followed by a steak and shrimp dinner, awards ceremony and games. Fire Chief Peterson welcomed the crowd by thanking all the fire fighters and their spouses for giving of their time to help their neighbors and strangers alike. He also thanked the city council members and township officials in attendance for their continued support and acknowledged four new members to the MLFD team: Chris Schmidt, Landon Caughey, Aaron Fobbe and Wendy Lynch.
Peterson then presented the retirees with their plaques that included an engraved axe. According to Peterson, retirees Rassat and Fobbe have 62 years of combined experience spanning more than four decades on the Maple Lake Fire Department and have impacted thousands of lives.
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