Awards program
Firefighter & EMS Responder of the Year
Honoring the Central Texas responders who set the standard, on and off the call.
District Firefighter of the Year
Recognizes a firefighter from a District 1 member department for exceptional service, leadership, training, and community involvement.
District EMS Responder of the Year
Recognizes an EMS responder whose patient care, professionalism, and service stand out across the district.
Process
How nominations work
Nominees must belong to a member department in good standing (dues current).
- January 1 · Nominations openDownload the fillable nomination packet. One packet covers both awards; each department may nominate one firefighter and one EMS responder.
- Letter from the chiefAttach a nomination letter on department letterhead, signed by the chief officer, executive, assistant chief, or department president, plus up to four letters of recommendation.
- February 28 · Packets dueSave everything as a single PDF and email it to awards@ctffma.org.
- March–April · District reviewA district committee checks each packet for eligibility and scores it on a published 100-point rubric.
- Spring Convention · Winners announcedDistrict recipients are recognized and their packets are forwarded to SFFMA / VFIS of Texas for state-level consideration.
Other district awards
Traditions of recognition
At every convention the Association also recognizes the department with the most members registered (the Attendance award) and the department that traveled the farthest to attend (the Mileage award). See recent winners →
Past recipients
| Year | Firefighter of the Year | EMS Responder of the Year |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Jonathan Schramm, Brenham FD | — |
| 2022 | Ryan Swor, Brenham FD | — |
| 2020 | Pam Ruemke, Brenham FD | — |
| 2019 | Robert Aguilar, Brenham FD | — |
| 2016 | Bill Gardner | — |
| 2015 | Andrew Josiwak | Dan Williams (first ever) |
| 2014 | Tim Mantey | — |
| 2013 | Teri Parkison | — |
| 2012 | Tank Nienstedt | — |
From convention minutes. Missing a year? Email awards@ctffma.org.