NVFC: THE VOICE OF THE VOLUNTEER FIREFIGHTER  There are over one million volunteer firefighters and emergency medical personnel in the U.S. In fact, over 71% of our nation’s firefighters are volunteers.  These brave men and women risk their lives every day to protect their communities, responding to emergencies of all kinds.

In addition to providing life-saving services, these volunteers also save communities across the nation a significant amount of money. It would cost U.S. taxpayers an estimated $128 billion every year if all the volunteer first responders were replaced with career staff.

In an emergency, volunteer firefighters and emergency medical personnel are there for you and your loved ones. You can feel safe knowing that if something should happen – be it a fire, medical emergency, natural disaster, terrorist threat, or other crisis – your community’s firefighters and EMTs are ready to protect you. They volunteer their time and risk their own safety to protect others because they care about their neighbors and communities.

Yet volunteer and combination departments across the country are struggling to recruit and retain members, fund life-saving programs, and continue to offer the services their communities depend on. The National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC) provides critical support to volunteer emergency service departments and personnel through advocacy, programs, and resources that enable the volunteer fire and emergency services to thrive.

The NVFC is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization whose mission is to support the volunteer fire and emergency services and serve as a unified voice for the volunteer on a national level. The NVFC meets the needs of the volunteer fire service in many ways. Our advocacy efforts have led to the passage of national legislation and policies that benefit the fire service and thus our communities, while our programs and resources help make communities stronger and safer on the local level.

One of the NVFC’s focus areas is recruitment and retention. While volunteers make up 71% of the U.S. fire service, the number of volunteer firefighters is actually 10% less than it was 25 years ago. At the same time, the number of calls to fire departments has more than doubled in the last two decades. Through the 1-800-FIRE-LINE campaign, any community member from anywhere in the country can call this toll-free number to find volunteer opportunities with their local emergency service department.

You don’t have to be a firefighter or EMT to help your local department. Through the Fire Corps program, community members can volunteer with their local fire department in a non-emergency role, performing tasks such as preparedness planning, fire and life safety education in the community, administrative support, and much more. This allows first responders to focus on training and response activities while the department is able to provide additional needed programs and services in the community. By calling 1-800-FIRE-LINE, community members can learn about both the first responder and Fire Corps opportunities within their local department. Those specifically interested in Fire Corps can also visit www.firecorps.org to find a local program.

The NVFC also manages the National Junior Firefighter Program, which helps get youth involved in the fire and emergency services. Junior firefighter programs help instill life-skills and values such as responsibility, leadership, teamwork, dedication, and confidence in youth participants. In turn, many of these youth become firefighters or emergency medical providers when they become adults. For instance, seventy-five percent of the firefighters in the Cherryville (NC) Fire Department started out as junior firefighters. There are over 1,300 junior firefighter programs registered with the NVFC. Find a local program at www.nvfc.org/juniors.

Another key focus area of the NVFC is health and safety. More firefighters die of heart attacks while on-duty than from any other cause. The NVFC is working to reverse this trend through the Heart-Healthy Firefighter Program, which educates firefighters about their health risks and provides the tools and resources to keep first responders healthy and ready to respond. The NVFC also provides resources and training for first responders on a variety of other health and safety issues, such as safe vehicle operations and proper use of personal protective equipment.

Through legislative advocacy, resources, programs, and more, the NVFC is meeting the critical needs of volunteer fire and emergency service departments across the country. With over half of all Americans living in communities served by departments that are either volunteer or a combination of volunteer and career, chances are that you or someone you know lives in a community that is protected by volunteers. Supporting the NVFC means that you are supporting the first responders who are there for you, your family, your friends, and your neighbors.

Learn more about the NVFC at www.nvfc.org. To find volunteer opportunities with your local fire department, call 1-800-FIRE-LINE.

TRACK PROGRAM CREATED TO THANK FIREFIGHTERS USFD Racing has created the USFDR Tracks Program, a directory of race tracks in the United States that offer a discount ticket to firefighters. When you see the USFD Racing logo on a track web site, you know that they support firefighters. The first two promoters to kick this program off are NASCAR driver Rick Crawford, promoter of Mobile International Speedway, and David Furia, promoter of Lakeport Speedway. These two tracks are also the tracks where USFDR drivers Derek Long and Jim Board have been cut out of their race cars after serious accidents. Their track safety crews are a great example why USFDR is working hard to honor first responders. The USFD Racing team would like to thank Mobile International Speedway and Lakeport Speedway for their support, and they look forward to working with many more tracks that would follow their example by supporting the firefighters that support us every day.

FULL THROTTLE RACING RADIO SHOW THE VOICE OF USFD RACING Full Throttle Racing radio show in Mobile, AL on FM Talk 106.5 has teamed up with USFD Racing as the team’s official radio show and media partner. Join host Derek Long every Saturday morning from 8:00 to 9:00am for a fast-paced hour from Karts to the Sprint Cup and all racing in between, racers and fans alike catch the week’s most up-to-date results and stories from local race tracks, regional series, and NASCAR’s national divisions. Growing up just an hour away from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Kane is a life-long racing enthusiast and participant. You can catch him announcing at Mobile International Speedway as well as racing Bombers and Stingers all over the Gulf Coast. The show features weekly NASCAR on-the-road updates from Dustin Long, a motorsports columnist and president of the National Motorsports Press association. Produced by 30-year local motorsports veteran, Bill Roth.

NASCAR CREW MEMBER JOINS USFD RACING Kevin Eagle crew member and gas man for Jennifer Jo Cobb that competes in the Camping World truck series and Nationwide series is very aware of the dangers he faces each week over the wall during competition in the upper levels of NASCAR. He is also very aware of the dangers fireman deal with every day in the line of duty because of his experience serving as a volunteer fireman from 1994 to 2004. With the addition of Kevin Eagle to USFDR we will be able to share with fans an inside look at preparation from the race shop to on track activities that you normally would not be able to experience.

DILLON SPEEDWAY AND USFD RACING HONOR LOCOL FIREFIGHTERS On July 9th, Dillon Motor Speedway is going to have two special guests representing local firemen. Donnie Grimsley and Cliff Arnette are going to be honorary crew members for USFD Racing driver Trevor Edwards who will be competing in the Rolling Thunder Modified Series. Donnie Grimsley is a full time fireman for the City of Dillon where he serves as a full time Engineer and Fire Marshall. He joined the department in 1989 as a volunteer fireman and later became a full time employee. Cliff Arnette is a volunteer fireman with the City of Dillon Fire Department where he presently serves as the assistant fire chief. He joined the fire department in 1993 as a volunteer fireman and has held the lieutenant and assistant fire chief positions. He is also a member of the Dillon Rescue Crew. Dillon Speedway website. www.dillonmotorspeedway.com

FIRST TOP FIVE FINISH FOR KEVIN AUBE IN SUMMER SHOOTOUT June 21, 2011 Kevin started 10th in the Masters main feature at Charlotte Motor Speedway and drove his way to the front to a 5th place finish. This is Kevin Aube 1st top five finish in shootout competition alongside some of the best drivers in the Legends Maser division. USFDR Kevin Aube Legend car set-up and race track support is provided by Team Wicked, Team Wicked is a FULL Legends car service organization. For more information visit their website at www.teamwickedracing.com Masters Unofficial Race Results 1st John Sossoman, 2nd Kevin Foisy, 3rd Jeff Green, 4th Jan Ingram, 5th Kevin Aube, 6th Eddie Harwell, 7th Chip Ferguson, 8th Ronald Mander, 9th David Reed, 10th Brad Green, 11th Bruce Silver, 12th Carlos Moore, 13th Brian Tinker, 14th ?, 15th Mike Rogers, 16th Hans-Peter Schaeppi, 17th Ray Short, 18th  Jamie Smith, 19th  Hoyt Demis, 20th Tom Pistone,21st ?. Kevin Aube will also be competing in the Legends Million that will return to Charlotte Motor Speedway on August 1st and 2nd. Multiple placement opportunities are available for your company with USFD Racing driver Kevin Aube for the big race. Contact USFDR for more information.

LIKE FATHER LIKE SON Newport, TN – May 21, 2011 Last year’s Rolling Thunder Modified Touring Series winner Trevor Edwards continued his dominance of Newport Speedway having now won both races in the tour’s history at Newport Speedway. Trevor was also the pole-sitter and lead every lap for the event. Trevor's win in the second race for the RTM series in 2011 followed in his father's footsteps, Wayne Edwards and fellow USFDR team driver substituted for his son in the season opener at Dillon Motor Speedway. Wayne also started on the pole and led every lap to win the race. Congratulations to the Edwards drivers and car owner Jeff Brown on an amazing start in 2011. The Rolling Thunder Modifieds are scheduled to return to Dillon Motor Speedway on July 9 for their 3rd race of the season.

EMS WEEK EMS Week is May 15-21, thanks all EMS personnel for the lifesaving services you provide every day. You can find EMS resources and join the NVFC’s EMS/Rescue Section at www.nvfc.org/ems

1ST 1ST PLACE FOR USFDR IN 2011 Wayne Edwards competed in the season opener this past weekend in the Thunder Rolling Modified Series for driver Trevor Edwards which is currently in Kentucky fulfilling education responsibilities. Wayne qualified on the pole and won the feature, in the final laps of the main event the lead was threatened by driver Chris Brown, teammate to Trevor Edwards and son of Jeff Brown car owner of Trevor Edwards. Congratulations to Jeff Brown on his first 1st and 2nd place finish as a car owner in the Rolling Thunder Modified Series. In 2010 Trevor Edwards recorded the first 1st place finish for USFDR in the same car.

USFDR NOW ON YOU TUBE We just started posting video of the USFDR races on You Tube at channel USFD Racing. This year were trying to do as much as possible to post videos of USFDR drivers competing so fans that are not in the area can see the races. I thought it would be informative if we could add to our You Tube channel video of firemen explaining tools or apparatus that are used in the industry. If you would like to join the team by making a video please contact us.

Go Cruisin with Ryan Rust This event benefits a great organization Lone Survivor Foundation LSF is a huge supporter of the wounded warriors and their families.

2011 Season Started With Aube Leading The Way  The first to start competition this year was Kevin Aube at Concord Motor Speedway in the Legends series. Kevin gained a lot of experience his first year of competition in the Legends series and has been working with some of the best in the Legends racing community to prepare for 2011. In just his first feature this year after leading several laps Aube finished in second-place recording his best finish in the series.

TEAM APPAREL NOW AVAILABLE USFD Racing has partnered with Premier Graph-x to bring our fans affordable quality team apparel. Premier Graph-x is a family owned and managed full service custom apparel and promotional products company located in Roseville, CA. If there are promotional products you would like to see offered, send us your request. For more information about Premier Graph-x visit their website at premiergraph-x.com. USFD Racing merchandise can be ordered through the Premier Graph-x USFD Racing Web store. A variety of colors and USFDR logos are available for you to design your own USFDR shirt and hoodie. We would like to thank our fans for their support and the many requests for apparel.

Trevor Edwards Race101 Premier Driver in 2011 The Race 101 Yearly Scholarship Program is the primary program for Race 101; It focuses on working with specially selected young drivers (ages 12-28) from the US and Canada through an application process similar to a college or university. The program lasts over the course of a year, with proven teaching and coaching methods that give the students one on one time with instructors, classroom time, track time and hands-on experience. The students also learn the importance and skills of the marketing and management side as well. The scholarship program is geared to find and assist deserving drivers who have shown talent, the drive, the desire and attitude to learn, earn, and better themselves; in an effort to advance in racing; as well as know how to properly build, maintain and have longevity in their careers. Race 101 also fields a super late model 'house car' with an outstanding student as the Premier Driver each year. Race 101 students sponsors and partners are represented through the program's strong marketing and PR support. At the Race101 2010 graduation ceremony 1/15/2011 in Denver, NC USFDR driver Trevor Edwards was named Race101 premier driver for 2011. I'm honored to have been chosen as the premier driver for 2011, this gives me a great opportunity to further my education with Tony Blanchard and the Race101 program said Trevor Edwards. In 2011 Edwards will be competing in the Thunder Rolling Modified Series and representing Race101 in CRA.

USFDR Expands To West Coast In 2011 The team is working very hard to prepare for the new season and as we move forward in 2011 with our efforts they will include the addition of two new drivers that will expand our team to the West Coast. We are proud to announce that Jim Mrozinski (Legends series) and Troy Nogosek (modified series) will be joining the team and will be competing in California. This addition to the team not only brings exposure to the West Coast for USFDR, Mrozinski and Nogosek are both Engineers with Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District so their experience as full-time firemen will help educate our fans on the fire department industry.

Race 101 Graduation and Awards Ceremony Join Trevor Edwards LIVE JANUARY 15, 2011 via webcast on Race 101 website for the Class of 2010 Graduation and Awards Ceremony 3pm (Eastern). To view the webcast and join the live chat go to RACE101.net on Sat, January 15th.

Trevor Edwards Racing Pink In October Trevor Edwards for the month of October (Cancer Awareness) is going to race a pink #32 modified in the Rolling Thunder Modified Series. If you know anyone who is going through this, beat it, has it, or lost the battle with this disease!!! Send their names to jboard@usfdracing.org and I will forward them to Trevor.