DEWEY BEACH — Noting it had been the late 1990s when the Delaware Volunteer Firefighters Association last held its annual conference in the beach areas, Governor John Carney closed out a standing-room-only lunch session with remarks and by signing five bills into law.
Split between the Hyatt Place Dewey Beach, 1301 Coastal Hwy., and the City of Rehoboth Beach Convention Center, 229 Rehoboth Ave., the convention began on Sept. 16 and ended on Sept. 19.
Gov. Carney welcomed everyone to the event, a scheduled luncheon with firefighters, their guests and a wide variety of elected officials and their staff, and stressed the importance of volunteerism, community support and community involvement.
Before the lunch, however, was the joint memorial service, where members who answered their final call were honored. Noting that, Gov. Carney paid tribute to Sussex County EMS employee and volunteer firefighter at Ellendale and Georgetown fire companies Thomas “Tommy” Berry III, who was killed Aug. 13 after pulling a motorist from a car.