On June 15th, the Hughesville Volunteer Fire Department and Rescue Squad Inc. was honored to host the graduation ceremony for the Charles County Cadet Program. The cadet program is a program in which students in Charles County High Schools across the county can begin their training in Fire and EMS courses. Students who have successfully complete the cadet program will be certified in Firefighter I and II, Emergency Medical Technician and Hazmat Operations.

At 6 pm, families of the graduates, distinguished guest and members from various departments gathered to celebrate the graduates who completed of the program. Ceremonies began with a welcoming from Cadet Coordinator Bill Smith followed by the National Anthem and Pledge of Allegiance led by Gracie Butler from La Plata High School. Chief 1B Matt Gilroy was the Master of Ceremonies. Joe Gardiner from the Charles County Volunteer Firemen's Association provided us with the Invocation. Hughesville VFD Auxiliary provided dinner to the attendees. The keynote address was provided by Amber Reamy the Vice Chair of MFRETC. Cadet Joanna Jimenez from Waldorf EMS 3 provided the class remarks. Awards were presented by Bill Smith, Steven Truesdell (MFRI Lead Instructor) and Missi Erslev (MFRI EMT Lead Instructor). The ceremonies were closed out with a benediction by Joe Gardiner.

Hughesville VFD would like to congratulate all the graduates, and we look forward to seeing you on the next call.

Units: Charles County Volunteers