The Board of Directors of the Joe Fishelson Award announces Paul Curtis of L.N. Curtis and Sons of Oakland, California as its 2007 recipient of the prestigious Joe Fishelson Award. The Joe Fishelson Award is an annual award presented for excellence in customer service to the Fire Service. Each year nominations are received and a recipient is selected based on their overall customer service contribution to the fire service through the industry of fire protection. The industry of fire protection includes manufacturers, independent manufacturer’s representatives, distributors, members of the fire media, associations, and other support or service organizations. A formal presentation of the award is made at the annual Fire Department Instructor’s Conference, the largest fire service event, held in Indianapolis in April.
According to Sam Goldwater, Board Chair and past recipient of the award, the award is given “based on long term impact through customer service. If you look at the past recipients of the award you will see people that have devoted their entire career to supporting the fire service and bring that support through excellence in customer service. Paul Curtis is a great example of what the Fishelson Award is all about. According to their website, L.N. Curtis & Sons is a company whose principal product is service, whose principal resource is people, and whose principal purpose is to be a distinguished leader in the field of supplying emergency and fire equipment. As the leader of this organization, Paul Curtis is a great choice to be this year’s recipient.”
The actual award is a traveling ornate fire bell that has all the previous winners of the award displayed. The bell stays with the winner for a year and is then passed on to the new recipient. In addition to the traveling bell, a smaller replica is given to the recipient to keep.
The award is named after Joe Fishelson, a pioneer in the manufacturing of fire equipment and big proponent of customer service. Funding for the award is provided by Action Coupling, Key Fire Hose, and others in memory of Mr. Fishelson. Members of the Board serve on a pro bono basis.
