Tonight the members of the Solomons Volunteer Rescue Squad and Fire Department took the time to have a celebration for the 60 years of service for Past President Raymond Lankford. The night began with a speech by Chief Ford which began on a reflection on what it means to be a leader. Below is a portion of his speech which many of us whether in the fire service or not should take time to reflect on since it is applicable to all of our daily lives.

Leaders are defined as:

Those who step up and lead understanding they are not perfect or ever will be.
Those who choose to lead are not any better than anyone else nor do they think more of themselves; in fact they often struggle with insecurity and doubt more often than is portrayed.
Those who lead are often maligned, slandered, and opposed to by those who would rather criticize than do the hard work of resolving long standing issues that leaders need to tackle head on in order to move an organization forward.
Those who choose to lead often suffer from depression as they wonder if their efforts are worth it all in the end. Many leaders fail to see the fruit of their labors in their own lifetime yet they keep working towards that ultimate goal.
Those who choose the lead care more about others and their calling than they do about themselves. They often suffer from divorce and other relational conflicts because the majority cannot understand why they sacrifice so much to receive so little in return.
Those who choose to lead are often the first to suffer from political, personal, and spiritual attacks because the devil doesn't come after the complacent.
Those who choose to lead care enough to fulfill the calling have smaller bank accounts but have dividends paid to them by the lives they impact.
Those who lead step in front of adversity and take the brunt of a punishment of a wrong that was not their own but understand that they were made to shield those in their influence.
Those who lead spend sleepless nights on projects, plans, and praying fervently for change in a world that often rejects them will not be forgotten.
Those who lead love while others hate and withhold harsh words in the face of those who spit anger at them are stronger than we realize.
Those who lead lift up the broken only do so because they know that they too were once lifted up by someone else.
In closing, if you know a leader who works fervently, know that you only see a portion of their efforts. In reality, they never stop leading.

There were several more speeches and proclamations give throughout the night from dignitaries such as President Pardoe, Commissioner Hart, Commissioner Nutter, 2nd Vice President of SMVFA Dale Bowen, and the man of the hour President Raymond Lankford. Several awards and proclamations were presented to President Lankford including an image of the Ambulance which was dedicated in honor. Also gathered this evening with President Lankford's friends and family that came to also celebrate with us.

After the awards were presented members sat down with and had a dinner in celebration and reflected with President Lankford on the old days at the Solomons firehouse and took some group photos in front of the new Rosenbauers to have remembrance of this joyous event.

We the members of the Solomons Volunteer Rescue Squad and Fire Department are very proud of the many achievements and positive impact President Lankford has had to our organization over the years and continues to this day. President Lankford's love, passion and commitment is what each of us as members of this department strive to achieve within our life time. We are all blessed to have President Lankford as a friend and a brother and treasure every day we get to spend with him.