Cow Town FOOLS

One of the newest chapters of the Fraternal Order of Leatherheads Society will be holding its first-ever meeting this month. The Cowtown FOOLS of Fort Worth, Texas, is hosting “Brotherhood Bash ‘10” on Jan. 28 with events that include a guest lecture from Fire Engineering magazine editor-in-chief Bobby Halton.

According to Cowtown FOOLS 2nd Trustee Marty Mayes, the idea for the chapter began in early 2009.

“It kind of started over a year ago,” Mayes said. “We have a local club called the ‘Fat Boys Cigar Club,' or FBCC. We would meet about once a week and discuss all things firefighting, and smoke cigars. It was a no-rank meeting for guys to talk freely about tactics and, of course, war stories. I was at FDIC last year and attended the FOOLS bash there and made friends with Bobby Halton and other FOOLS. When I talked about it back at an FBCC meeting, the whole idea took flight.”

Jerritt Gideon, a firefighter/paramedic assigned to the River Oaks (Tx.) Fire Department learned about the FOOLS at the FBCC meeting. The discussions prompted him to research the organization and led him to organize the Cowtown FOOLS chapter.

“I saw it as a way to build the brotherhood, not just in our department, but in several different departments,” said Gideon, who is Cowtown FOOLS Vice President. “I am excited to see our chapter build. I really think this is an awesome way to get people excited about the job again.”

The ‘Brotherhood Bash '10' will be held Jan. 28 from 6-10 p.m. at the River Oaks Community Center. Chief Halton's lecture will be “The Time for Warrior Poets is Upon Us.”

For more information on the Cowtown FOOLS, or their ‘Brotherhood Bash '10,' including details on purchasing tickets to the event, please visit: http://www.cowtownfools.com/Welcome.html.