I'd like "Top o' th' mornin' to ya" for $1000

Trebec: "Officer, Instructor, Firefighter, Medic, Rookie and Support Persons of the year".
Contestant: "Who are Brad Paulson, Paul Buccigross, Josh Marshall, Bill Witte and Paul Buccigross, Alyssa Quaile and Paul Delys?"

The CGFR Christmas Party, as usual, drew in lots of people, many of whom wanted to know the results of the annual awards. Here are the official results. Remember, each winner was nominated and voted upon by the volunteers at CGFR.

• Brad Paulson was picked as Officer of the Year. He was nominated because he does a great job of making people feel welcome and does a great job as an officer.
• Paul Buccigross was a busy person this year, garnerning enough respect and admiration amongst his peers to be voted Instructor of the Year and co-Medic of the Year. Paul puts in a huge amount of time at CGRF, only a small portion of which is spent in front of the television. And just in case anyone is wondering ... he's still "excellent". (Instructor of the Year, in this writer's humble opinion, is the most prestigious honor bestowed upon an individual at CGFR. Every instructor at CGFR is valued and has a positive effect on numerous responders. Our run volume is low, so in-station training substitutes for our lack of on-the-job opportunities to learn. The Instructor of the Year touches the most people and, arguably, affects more volunteers than any other person in the department. Congratulations Paul and keep up the good work! pjd)
• Firefigher of the Year went to Josh Marshall. Josh and his wife Emmy have been around CGFR for seven years and it's always a pleasure to run into either of them. It's always good to hear Josh showing up on scene, because good things are going to happen.
• Bill Witte and Paul Buccigross had even splits on the vote and each took home the coveted Medic of the Year award. They're both ultra dependable, knowledgeable, skilled and ready to roll on a call. For all they know and can do, they're also always ready to learn something new so they can do even better on the next call. Love you both!
• Alyssa Quaile mushed to the front of the pack and captured the coveted Rookie of the Year award. She doesn't live at the station, but for as much time and effort as she puts in, she may as well do so.
• Support Person of the Year went to Paul Delys. Paul putters around the stations fixing things here and there. He's also on the Board and works hard to make volunteers feel good about their valuable time spent working to better themselves as responders and contributing to CGFR.

Cheers to the cream floating at the top of the best group of volunteers in the Fairbanks North Star Borough. Everyone in the Department plays an essential role in our mission to provide the best Emergency Service we can. Keep up the hard work and we'll be even better next year -- making the annual awards even more exciting.

Special thanks go out the husbands, wives, sons, daughters, boy- and girl-friends who put up with and support those of us who commit so much time to this valuable endeavor. Extra special thanks the members of the Support Group. Most of you are the significant other of a responder. Not only do you provide needed support and tolerance for our bad habit, you also get up in the middle of the night at -40F and respond with good food and drink for us -- and you don't even get the thrill (or the opportunity to warm up) of running into a burning building. Now THAT'S dedication and we responders REALLY appreciate it!!