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Telephone
solicitations not what they appear
By REBECCA CRUSE
Capital
Journal Staff
Thursday,
August 31,
2006
If
Pierre-area residents receive a phone call asking for money to support local
fire departments, chances are it's not coming from local fire departments and
the donations will not support them.
Pierre fire chief Bill Alexander said recent telephone solicitations to area
residents are not the work of the Pierre Fire Department and will not benefit
the department or the firefighters.
"We only do our solicitations once a year, and that will start Sept. 18," said
Alexander. "We'll be mailing letters out to every homeowner in the city
requesting donations."
Alexander added that the Pierre Rural Fire Department will request donations via
mail solicitations to county residents around the beginning of October.
The Pierre Fire Department is currently holding a raffle for a vacation package
giveaway, but according to Alexander, the department receives no funds from
phone or door-to-door solicitations.
The current solicitations were brought to the attention of Alexander at a fire
department meeting Monday night. He said that people are being told that the
funds will benefit the Pierre Fire Department but that is untrue.
The solicitations are probably not a scam. It is likely a fundraiser for the
Professional Fire Fighters of South Dakota, according to Tim Medenwald, the
treasurer for the organization.
During a telephone interview with Medenwald, who is currently attending a
conference in Canada, he said that if phoning party identifies his or herself as
an employee with CWS, Community Welfare Services, they are soliciting funds on
behalf of his statewide organization.
Since Medenwald is out of the state, he could not immediately confirm whether or
not the company that PFFSD contracts with is currently soliciting donations.
But fundraisers for the PFFSD benefit professional, or paid, fire departments in
the state, including those in Sioux Falls, Watertown, Aberdeen, Mitchell and
Rapid City. The Pierre and Fort Pierre fire departments are all volunteer. Their
fundraisers help pay for training, equipment and volunteer functions.
Pierre Rural Fire Department fundraisers also support new equipment and
maintenance on equipment, according to Alexander, but the city pays for
equipment and maintenance for the Pierre Fire Department.
Though Alexander said that they money raised by the PFFSD is used for a good
cause, he hopes that community residents will remember that it is important to
support the local firefighters who are not compensated for the work they do.
Story by: REBECCA CRUSE
Capital Journal, Pierre, SD
www.capitaljournal.com
For more information about the
Pierre Fire
Department, e-mail the PFD
webmaster.
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