Every year in March the Town of Turtle Fire Department has an awards banquet. It's a time when we can all let our hair down and have a little fun, enjoy some good food, and good company.

We not only thank our members but we invite all of the major donors from the previous year to attend and we honor them. New in recent years, thanks largely to the memorial comittee, service awards are presented to previous members who have moved on to new endevours. We also take time during this event to honor members on the deparment in three key areas.

The first of the regular awards is the Chief's Award. This goes to someone of the chief's designation that has helped him thoughout the year. This years winner was Mike Soderberg.

The second award is the EMS of the Year Award. This goes to an individual that has really made a major impact in the EMS field. This years winner was Dave Bomkamp.

The third and most prestigous award of the evening is catergorized as the Firefighter of the Year Award. This award is the only award where you can only be nominated by previous winners. This award goes to the individual that overall has had a major impact to the department on all levels. This years winner was Jason Rowland.