IAFC Volunteer and Combination Officers Section Announces Winner of the 2024 Retention & Recruitment Award

McLean, Va. – The International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) Volunteer and Combination Officers Section (VCOS), together with their partners at VFIS, has officially named the Botetourt County Department of Fire & EMS the winner of 2024’s Retention and Recruitment Award. This award recognizes excellence in the retention and recruitment of emergency service organization members by a specific department.

Led by Chief Jason Ferguson and Recruitment & Retention Specialist Taylor Lunsford, the Botetourt County Department has embodied a community-first approach to volunteer recruitment and retention. By conferring this award, the IAFC, VCOS, and VFIS hope to highlight the department’s success and share valuable insights with peer departments that may be struggling with their own approaches to personnel management.

“Chief Jason Ferguson and Specialist Lunsford have made their volunteer fire and EMS recruitment and retention program a strategic priority,” said Chief Rich Cowger, VCOS Chair. “Their ongoing initiatives have led to some impressive successes. The Botetourt County Department of Fire and EMS demonstrates best practices that we can all learn from and apply to our own departments.”

“Year after year [we have seen] that the number one recruitment tool for most of our members was personal connection,” said Chief Ferguson in a statement about his team’s strategy. “We’ve worked hard to foster an environment where we can make those connections frequently.”

These insights have led the department to forge strong relationships with other organizations in the community. Volunteer personnel have visited high schools, worked directly with the Greater Roanoke Workforce Development Board, participated in the Career Quest program, and each Summer, they host a Girls’ Fire Camp to teach girls in grades 1-12 about the Fire & EMS field.

In the area of personnel retention, the department’s leadership has prioritized recognition above all. One example of this is the department’s annual awards banquet, an agency-wide event where individual and team achievements are recognized and celebrated. Another example is Botetout’s Volunteer Incentive Program, which confers a monetary reward on personnel who go above and beyond to answer calls for service, complete training, and participate in public education events.

The Botetout County Fire Rescue & EMS Department’s success speaks for itself. They have experienced consistent growth in the number of volunteer personnel active within their department and have seen turnover rates decrease.

The Retention and Recruitment Award will be presented at the 2024 Symposium in the Sun conference in Clearwater, Florida. One member of the department will have their travel and lodging expenses covered by VFIS as part of the award, and VCOS has waived their registration fees.