2014 comes to an end very soon, and as we head into Christmas Day we will all likely take time to remember to slow down a bit and enjoy friends and family and traditions steeped in time and history. In all honesty, we should take time all year to remember why we work so hard and care so much for our way of lives, our friends and families and our spirituality and humanity, but we know Christmas time and the end of the year holidays tend to get us to our homes, our churches, our neighborhoods and our children at a time when we really all shut down and stop and smell the roses and give thanks.

Your Executive Board of Local 1014 will also take time between now and the start of the new year to breath a bit and enjoy our families and friends also. As we all take time to reflect and remember the past year and the events that will define 2014 for us all personally, remember to take pride in your accomplishments at work and in your support and participation through Local 1014 to protect and advance and secure our very wonderful profession as Los Angeles County Fire Fighters, Paramedics and Fire, Forestry, Health Haz-Mat and Dispatch Personnel. Both sworn and non-sworn Local 1014 Members have worked tirelessly to produce results that are undeniably the envy of most every other department around us and throughout the state, both large and small.

Take a moment everyday to be thankful for what we have and remeber those we have lost, WE WILL NEVER FORGET.

Each of us should remember why we work so hard to keep our professional job standards so protected and high on comparison…so we can be safe at work and earn a good living to go home and enjoy our families. Take time to get to your home and spend a little time with a cup of coffee or hot chocolate and your friends and families this Christmas. We know there will be more economic and political and legislative challenge in 2015, and we’ll be ready once again, but for this short time let’s breath shall we? We have all earned it and let us not forget life is short and our challenges to stay healthy are more than most given our chosen profession.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year and may you have a blessed Holiday Season with your family and friends and brothers and sisters at work. Be safe at work in all that you do, and please remember to be safe off duty as you celebrate and if you are going to drink at all, DON’T DRINK AND DRIVE, DON’T TEXT AND DRIVE. GET A DRIVER, GET A ROOM, GET A CAB…PUT THE PHONE DOWN….. MAKE A PLAN! It is not just about fines and penalties, but about protecting lives as we know all too well. Set the example for your children and each other and lead…DON’T DO IT, MAKE A WISE DECISSION.

Thank you for all you do and we will be well rested and ready for the challenges that 2015 holds for us all.

Los Angeles County Fire Fighters, IAFF Local 1014 – “Tradition of Excellence”

Check iafflocal1014.org or local1014.org for details