Committee: Communications & Policy

Contact: Kurt Rogers, Chair – [email protected]

2023 Mission: The mission of the Communications and Policy Committee is to provide policy recommendations to the Minnesota State Fire Chief’s Association (MSFCA) Board of Directors, with an emphasis on promoting goals, directions, and quality within the organization. The committee continuously monitors and updates the policy and procedure manual to ensure the MSFCA operates within state and federal laws and regulations it sets for itself. As the need arises, new policies are introduced to the Board of Directors for consideration. The committee also assists the Board of Directors to coordinate all of the MSFCA’s committees and communication channels. It oversees all facets of the MSFCA website, Minnesota Fire Chief magazine, and e-Newsletter operations that include but are not limited to, publishing, editing, and advertising. The committee also ensures that all informational content meets the needs of the MSFCA’s members.

2023 Report:
The committee has two primary objectives: communications and policy. As of 2022, most of the focus in 2023 was on policy work. The policy & procedure manual was last overhauled in 2015. The committee started tackling the review and revision of MSFCA policies. This year, policies 108, 501, 502, 503, 504, 600, 601, and 602 were updated and approved by the Board of Directors. Spelling errors were corrected, and the format was completely overhauled due to repetitive and extraneous language.

Policy #108: MSFCA Board of Directors Regional Boundaries and Regional Representative Responsibilities

The policy was updated to include the regional boundaries map and the list of counties in each region. The policy was updated to current practices, and small formatting changes were made.

Policy #501: Annual Memorial Service, Policy #502: Event Room Reservation Policy, Policy #503: Awards Banquet and Policy #504: Event Cancellation Policy

The policies were updated to current practices, and small formatting changes were made.

Policy #600: Outstanding Invoices and Policy #601: MSFCA Website & Social Media

Policy #600 was updated to apply to all outstanding invoices and will be added to Policy #206. This would eliminate Policy #600. A separate policy is unnecessary. Policy #601 and #602 have been combined to cover the MSFCA website and social media platforms. Once the manual is overhauled, it will continuously be reviewed to update the policy and procedure manual.

2023 Communications & Policy Committee Members

  • Chair: Kurt Rogers, Lakewood, Fire Chief

  • Tim Bush, Fire Chief, Maple Grove

  • Dennis Edwards, Asst. Chief, Duluth

  • Dan Lysher, Fire Chief, 148th Air National Guard