Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Master Technician Johnathan Macquilliam and Capt. Matthew C. Burns hold their boots high as they work a Labor Day crowd of generous motorists at a Fairfax traffic signal on Waples Mill Road and U.S. Route 50.
After the first day of collection, it was apparent that this would be no ordinary campaign. The $173,686.56 collected by B-Shift was the second highest one day total in Fairfax County Fill the Boot history (by only $2,000!). Needless to say, the $50,000 to disaster relief goal was quickly accomplished and we began work on the $500,000 goal for Greater Washington MDA.
The second day brought rain and chill. C-Shift put personal comfort aside and made a point to stay out as much as safely possible. Fire Station 5, Franconia, personnel came in with $28,251 collected. That is the highest amount collected in one day by one shift in Fairfax County Fill the Boot history. A tip of the fire helmet to C-Shift personnel who did not let the weather conditions get in the way of collecting $155,629.66.
Due to the work schedule, personnel from A-Shift had only one day of collection and made the most of it. A-Shift collected a total of $140,193.28 on what was a beautiful Sunday.
Coming into the last day of the campaign, C-Shift knew they only needed roughly $76,000 to accomplish the $500,000 collected goal for the Greater Washington MDA. Personnel collected $152,059 for the last day of the campaign which meant another $71,954.06 was added to the disaster relief fund for a total of $131,278.65. Part of that total was $4,476.36 from the 142nd Recruit School, $220 from the Logistics Distribution Center, $4,291 from the 9-1-1 Center, $252 from the Fire Prevention Office and $60 from the local office.
When all was said and done, we collected $631,278.65 total for Fill the Boot 2017. Never has any municipality collected that much money ... ever.
Thanks to the following for their support:
Chairman Sharon Bulova and the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors,
Fire Chief Richard Bowers and the Fairfax County Fire & Rescue Department,
President John Niemiec and Local 2068,
Chief John Morrison, Vienna Volunteer FD, and all volunteer canteen units,
Director Bill Kang and all the members of the Department of Public Safety Communications,
Colonel Ed Roessler, Sergeant Tom Bailey, PFC Jared Warner and the Fairfax County Police Department,
President John Harris and the Fairfax County Fire & Rescue Retirement Association,
All career and volunteer Fire and Rescue members and their families who helped out during the campaign.
Last, I would like to thank the residents and guests of Fairfax County who, by opening their car window and generously donating, made this year’s Fill the Boot a tremendous success. We could not do this without you.
The author is a master technician at Fire Station 40, Fairfax Center, B-Shift, and coordinator for the Fairfax County Fill the Boot Campaign.