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"Who said fun and fire chief don’t go together?"

When was the last time you heard a fire chief talking about how much fun they had at work and how much they love their job...never??? How can we expect our future leaders to want to take the helm when our current leaders only complain about the amount of emails they receive, ongoing politics, difficult unions, discipline processes, etc. I’ll talk about how leadership can look different and how to absorb every last piece of goodness out of the job, no matter what rank you hold.

Tricia L. Wolford
Fire Chief
Anne Arundel County, MD Fire Department

Symposium Information

January 9-11, 2023
Embassy Suites Hotel & Convention Center 
Frisco, Texas

No Admission Fee for Texas Emergency Response Personnel.
$150 for out-of-state attendees.

Questions about registration or hotels?
Contact Emily Peterson (979-500-6814).

Reserve your Room

Rooms at the special symposium rate at the Embassy Suites Hotel & Convention Center are currently SOLD OUT. Check back regularly to see if rooms become available.

Special symposium rates are now available at the Hilton Garden Inn across the street.

The TEEX Leadership Development Symposium focuses on leadership skills and knowledge for the emergency response career field. The event has transformed over the years to include anyone and everyone regardless of his or her chosen career.

Leadership is an intangible, immeasurable skills-set that is needed and required in all walks of life regardless of your position or role. An individual’s leadership skill(s) must continue to evolve and grow in order to remain successful, both professionally and personally regardless if they are a Firefighter, Nurse, Law Enforcement Officer, Parent, or Administrative Assistant.

Attend the 2023 TEEX Leadership Development Symposium and build upon your leadership skills and knowledge for your continued success!

"Brotherhood." Did you ever think about it in this way: Bro-T-Her-Hood?

I am breaking up the word BRO-T-HER-HOOD. Breaking up the word opens thoughts in the areas of recruiting, mentoring, and retaining members. There are approximately 1,080,000 fire fighters in the United States alone. "BRO" is exactly what you might guess, with approximately 992,000 firefighters being male. "T" is separate because the "T" represents several words that can be dropped in with the breakouts that have and will continue to allow the brotherhood to flourish. "HER," like "BRO," is for the 88,800 female members of the Brotherhood (2019 NFPA). We fully utilize "Brothers" and "Sisters," but "Brotherhood" is the whole thing. "HOOD" is last, but in my time in the fire service has never seemed to come out more than now.

There are many articles, and even way more attitudes and opinions on brotherhood in the Fire Service. It is disappointing to see some of the views suggesting a dying brotherhood, but I do understand where that thought is coming from. I have been fortunate to live in a few different places in the United States, where the word and actions of the brotherhood always rises to the top. Our move to Texas really had me thinking about it a little bit differently.  

I think this topic could lead to healthy conversations at the station kitchen table, apparatus bay, and or meeting room. It could help open the door to some tough but necessary discussions amongst our members. I believe that this is the greatest job in the world. Some share that view, but not always at my level of interest and enthusiasm, and that is OK. I want to take the time to learn about my fellow firefighters as we live in and pass on the brotherhood.  

As you go through your career or are at a class that has firefighters from around your city, county, state, and so on, think about what they might be thinking of when you talk of the brotherhood.

Carl Wolfe
Captain / Senior Training Officer
Pearland, TX Fire Department 

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