Pride, Laughter And Tears At Fire Co. Banquet

Pride, laughter and even a few tears were the order of Saturday evening as celebrated the accomplishments of its firefighters and ladies auxiliary Saturday night at Willow Tree Grove in Orefield.

The pride was illustrated during several awards presentations, including the Hurst Green Cross/ResQ Tec award presented to firefighter John Grantz and the Firefighter of the Year award, which went to Roger Conrad.

State Rep. Douglas Reichley, currently running for a Lehigh County judge seat, was on hand to make both presentations.

Several other presentations were made throughout the festive evening, including a engineer's award to George Roth and awards for training and the most number of call responses. Those awards went to Rick Myers and David Diehl, respectively.

Dwayne Shellhamer, a 26-year member who is now retired, was named to the fire company's Hall of Fame.

"Our firefighters have the divine peace of a thankless job," said Goodwill Fire Chief Scott Weber. "They don't wave flags and talk about courage, duty and honor. They live it. It's amazing how they do their jobs."

Weber took time to laud the company's Ladies Auxiliary team for its assistance to the fire team, not only during theand other fund-raisers, but for all their help in fire company facets.

Upper Macungie Fire Commissioner Grant Grim was recognized with a standing ovation for the coordination of the township's three companies Two occupants of an automobile crushed by a tractor-trailer were extricated in one hour and 15 minutes.

Laughter was provided by the monologue of Master of Ceremonies Carl Schmoyer III, who poked jokes that centered around many of the company members, generating both guffaws and groans.

The tears flowed at the end of a slideshow presentation that highlighted the company's efforts throughout the year.

The final poignant portion of the slideshow was dedicated to the late Ladies Auxiliary President Kathy Schmoyer,

Schmoyer held her position at Goodwill for more than 14 years.