Kevan Brown named firefighter of the year

Other awards go to firefighters Mason, Muelheim,
Cornelssen and Matthies
by GINGER HAMILTON, Special to the Times
Windsor resident Kevan Brown, 22, was named Firefighter of the
Year at the annual Windsor Volunteer Firefighters Association
awards dinner on Saturday, March 20. Earlier in the evening, Brown
received an award recognizing his having graduated from the Santa
Rosa Junior College Fire Academy and completing 11 other fire
service training classes.
“When considering the candidates for this award,” said Fire
Chief Ron Collier, “we look at a the person’s level of
participation, teamwork, enthusiasm, dependability; his/her
attitude, willingness to go the extra mile, commitment to fire
service education. As always, our decision this year was a tough
one. We have many great volunteers, but this year Kevan’s
achievement stood out. Since joining the department two years ago,
he has proven to be an exemplary volunteer, willing to take on any
task and give it 100 percent.”
Several other awards were presented at the awards dinner. The
Milo Strawn Award for Most Inspirational Firefighter went to Steve
Mason, 48; the Vic Pozzi Award for Most Dependable Firefighter went
to Keith Muelheim, 20; the Phil Williams Award for Community
Service went to Cameron Cornelssen, 24; and Chris Matthies, 20, was
named Most Improved Firefighter. All are Windsor residents.
The Strawn Award is named for former Windsor Fire Chief Milo
Strawn; the Pozzi Award for Vic Pozzi, a volunteer with the
department since its founding in 1965.
“Our volunteers are the backbone of our organization,” said
Battalion Chief Matt Gustafson. “This dinner is our most important
annual event because it gives us the chance to publicly acknowledge
their contributions and to thank them and their families for the
sacrifices they make.”
The Windsor Fire Protection District is a combination
paid/volunteer fire department that responds to 1700 calls per
year.