The Chestertown Volunteer Fire Company hosted our Annual Christmas Banquet and Installation of Officers Saturday evening, December 20, 2025.
The Master of Ceremonies for the evening was shared by President Ben Coppage and Chief John “Otis” Darling.
The evening began with a somber Memorial Ceremony, remembering the fire company members lost during this last year. As their names were called, a candle was lit, either by family, a friend, or a fire company representative. After the candles were lit, our ceremonial engine apparatus bell was chimed. The following members were memorialized in passing.
• Robert Knoedler (Life Member) - Candle lit by Chief John "Otis" Darling.
• Dakota Collison – Candle lit by friend and Rock Hall VFC member Brian Jones.
• Kenneth Neal (Life Member) – Candle lit by his son Ebbie Neal, and his wife, Kelly Kohr-Neal.
The Invocation was given by Fire Company Chaplain, Reverend Leon Frison.
Those gathered were then invited to enjoy a lavish spread, provided by Ms. Helen Todd, Caterer.
Before and after the meal, a free raffle (raffle tickets were stapled to every program) was performed, with gifts and giveaways donated by area merchants and businesses. Our humble appreciation to all that generously donated. Thank You, Very Much!
After dinner, President Coppage recognized and introduced guests from surrounding fire companies and various governmental dignitaries.
The evening’s activities then moved to the Installation of the 2026 Administrative Officers and Fire Line Officers, which was performed by Phil Hurlock of the Church Hill VFC. (Later in the evening’s ceremonies, for generous and meritorious service to our fire company, Mr. Hurlock was inducted as an Honorary Member of the Chestertown VFC. (Photographs Included)
The 2026 officer line-up.
• President – Ben Coppage
• 1st Vice President – Steve Bilinski
• 2nd Vice President – James Swindell
• Secretary – Cindy Morris
• Assistant Secretary – Amanda Swindell
• Treasurer – Henrietta Maloney
• Assistant Treasurer - Bill Hildebrand
• Chaplain – Reverend Leon Frison
Fire Suppression Officers:
• Chief – John “Otis” Darling
• Deputy Chief – Brad Russum
• Assistant Chief 6 – Claude Joyner, III
• Assistant Chief 6-1 – Michael Carey
• Assistant Chief 6-2 – Kyle Thompson
• Captain 6 – Jesse Downey, Jr.
• Captain 6-1 – Shawn Rideout
• Lieutenant 6 – James Swindell
• Lieutenant 6-1 – Charles “Chas” Willis
• Lieutenant 6-2 – Caleb Sadzinski
• Safety Officer 6 – Doug Wilson
• Public Information Officer – Jeff Thompson
To recognize those fire company members that provided outstanding service and support for the fire company throughout the year, President Coppage and Chief Darling presented awards, and member service anniversaries (in 5-year increments).
Administrative Recognitions:
Life Membership is the Highest Award the Chestertown Volunteer Fire Company can bestow on a member. The qualifying conditions are strict… At least 20 years as an Active Firefighter, for Conspicuous Service to the fire company, or…. Any elected officer of the company that has served at least five years in an elected position. At the “Annual Meeting” (Elections) the membership votes to welcome or exclude the qualifying member. This honor makes it a highly desirous award.
This year we welcomed two new Life Members into the fold.
• Kevin Kerr – Before moving to Chestertown, he started his fire service career with the Rock Hall VFC. He has been a member of Chestertown VFC for several decades, where he was extremely active with our Fire Police arm. He continues to turn out and help, as he can, with fund raising activities. He was also a member and active with the Kent & Queen Annes Rescue Squad. Kevin is also the current President of the Eastern Shore of MD Volunteer Fireman's Association.
• Betsy Douglas (posthumous) Betsy, along with her husband Jim, served as part of our Fire Police arm. She could sometimes be found attending the various Fire Prevention activities that happen every year in the Fall. She attended nearly every fund-raising activity, helping where she could to make it successful. She was always full of life and fun. When she was around, where there was laughter, you could be sure she was a part of it.
As a 20-Year (now) Life Member, Betsy qualified for Life Membership this year. For quite some time leading up, Betsy had been honest and succinct… It was her goal to become a Life Member. She was highly anticipatory of both the elections and the Annual Christmas Banquet and Installation of Officers. If she ad been accepted by the membership… she would be inducted and honored as a Life Member. The vote to provide her Life Membership was unanimous.
Unfortunately, Betsy was unexpectedly struck down by a catastrophic illness. Only afterwards, we learned that she had been battling it for some time. She was always cheerful and her usual, outgoing self. She had been at a company meeting, again with no indication that things were out of sort. By the next company meeting, approximately two weeks later, she took a turn for the worst, entered a nursing & care facility, and was gone within a few days. Her absence is keenly felt by all of us here at the Chestertown VFC.
The Chestertown VFC has the status of “Honorary Member” for someone who bestowed upon the Company a significant benefit or for exceptional service. This year at the “Annual Meeting” (Elections) we voted in two as Honorary Members.
• Phil Hurlock – Phil, a Life Member of the Church Hill VFC, has provided invaluable service and contributions to the Chestertown VFC for many years. As a leading member of the Maryland State Firefighters Association, Phil has been instrumental in helping us with a multitude of items of interest at the State Association level. For quite a few years, Phil has served as the officiant, administering the Oath of Office to our Administrative and Fire Suppression officers. This year was no different. He again administered the Oath of Office.
• Patrica Lewis – A current sitting “community” member of our Board of Directors, she has been energetically helpful in promoting the mission of the fire company. She has actively organized and promoted fund raisers on our behalf. Probably the most successful event she runs on our behalf is the Annual Car Show in Worton. We receive 100% of the proceeds from this wildly popular event.
President Coppage took a moment to express appreciation to a few members that were especially helpful to his administration over the past year. He thanked 1st Vice President Steve Bilinski, and 2nd Vice President James Swindell for help and efforts. He recognized Secretary Cindy Morris and Assistant Secretary Amanda Swindell for their efforts to track the company records regarding minutes of meetings and other information crucial to a volunteer fire company’s operation. He recognized Treasurer Henrietta Maloney for her tireless efforts to track the fire company finances, a daunting challenge for a large and diversified operation such as the Chestertown VFC.
President Coppage also presented the female spouses of those members who were helpful to him this past year. Being active in a volunteer fire company, especially a larger one like Chestertown VFC, can be a time-consuming effort for the individual member. It cuts into family time and can place a strain on a relationship. The fire service is aware of this possibility and do what we can to smooth the water. Without the efforts of our members, a fire company is merely a vacant building where fire apparatus is parked.
President Coppage set aside a moment to mention two members that achieved a notable milestone with their Chestertown VFC careers… Mark Mumford and Keith Vanzant. This year marked their 50-Year anniversary, a rare achievement in the volunteer fire service. Both individuals bring unique skills and experience to the table and deserve recognition.
Chief John “Otis” Darling, assisted by Assistant Chief Claude Joyner, III (himself a Past Chief) handed out awards and recognitions for member contributions during this past year. They also recognized member service anniversaries, broken down into 5-Year segments.
Chief Darling recognized all his line officers, and a few other key personnel that helped our operations run smoothly. As previously stated, and for the same reason, about the spouses of members, Chief Darling took a moment to recognize and thank all the wives, girlfriends, significant others… and the stray male that might fall into this category. Again, without personnel to run our business… It’s just an empty building.
Chief Darling took a couple minutes to discuss an interesting statistic concerning the Chestertown VFC membership. From December 2024, through November 2025, the Chestertown VFC has run an amazing 746 incidents. Through this total, when tabulating the calls of individual members, we noticed a handful had responded to more then 100 calls, a remarkable achievement. Those members and their statistic are as follows.
• Steve Bilinski – 114
• Chas Willis – 116
• Michael McGinnis – 138
• Ken Young – 175
• Jim Wallace – 188
• John “Otis” Darling - 192
• Kendall McGinnis – 193
• Brad Russum – 229
• Shawn Rideout – 234
• Bruce Neal – 303
• Caleb Sadzinski – 314
• Doug Wilson – 336
An important part of the yearly banquet is awarding of service pins, recognizing their years of service with the Chestertown VFC. This value is always expressed in 5-year increments. They are as follows:
5 – Years
Michael Jacobs
Rosemarie Lobley
Caleb Sadzinski
15 – Years
David “Davey” Eason, Jr.
40 - Years
William “Buddy” Pinder
50 – Years
Mark Mumford
Keith Vanzant
Probably the most anticipated award of the evening among the rank & file members is “Firefighter of the Year” and “Fire Officer of the Year”. They are:
Firefighter of the Year
Chas Willis
Fire Officer of the Year
Brad Russum
Prior to wrapping up, on behalf of his late father... Life Member Bill Coleman… (also) Life Member David Coleman made a special presentation to the fire company, donating a specially crafted signature goose call to the fire company. In 1969, when Mr. Bill Coleman was Chief, the fire company updated the front of the 1938 fire station on Cross Street. (This building is now the Municipal Building for the Chestertown Mayor & Town Council.) Previously, the three apparatus bay days were arched, and still equipped with 3” wooden doors, which had to be manually released and opened by hand.
With the arched shaped doors and the ever-increasing size of fire apparatus, it was increasingly difficult to custom design fire equipment for the Chestertown VFC. (This was just ahead of our purchase of the 1972 Mack, a truck that, because of its size and shape, would not have fit that current shape and form. And… With the inconvenience of manually opening and closing the bay doors an ongoing issue, the decision was made to update the facade and door equipment. The arched doors were eliminated. Overhead, electrically operated doors were installed, making things infinitely easier in many facets.
Mr. Bill Coleman took the now disassembled, seasoned Pine doors home. He warned his sons to leave that pile of lumber alone, as he had plans for it. No tree houses or forts. Mr. Bill was a journeyman decoy carver and planned to use that wood to fashion decoys. For more then 50 years, this pile of wood was the source for thousands of custom-made goose calls.
After Mr. Bill’s recent passing, the family was cleaning out his workshop. David discovered some scraps of Pine. From memory and experience, he immediately recognized them as remaining parts of the old fire house doors. As David himself is an accomplished decoy carver, he determined to seize upon the wood and try his hand at making goose calls. After some trial and error, he succeeded in making 11, most of which were sold within 12 hours. David reserved this one goose call to donate to the fire company, in memory of his father.
The Benediction was offered by Reverend Leon Frison, Fire Company Chaplain.
After half the floor was cleared of tables and chairs, those members (mostly the younger crowd) enjoyed an evening of music, dancing, and celebrating.
We would be remiss if we didn’t give a special shout-out to the Easton Volunteer Fire Company (Talbot County, Maryland) and the Grasonville Volunteer Fire Company (Queen Annes County, Maryland). They provided equipment and personnel to cover our calls while our banquet was in progress, and for a time afterwards… while post-banquet celebrations were in progress. This allowed our members to relax and not have to worry about covering calls for service. We owe them a debt of special gratitude.
