By KATE J. CONDE

More than 40 members of the association made the annual trip to our Chappy station recently for the monthly dinner and meeting. Capt. Peter Wells and his crews of Engines 3 and 5 put on a nice spread of meat and vegetable lasagna, Waldorf salad, green salad, and garlic bread. The boys also had a delicious cake in honor of the recent retirement of Capt. Dick Knight.

Members enjoyed a slideshow of the good old days to honor those recently retired in 2007. Many thanks to ferry Capt. Walter Streeter for running the ferry immediately after the meeting adjourned. Good thing we know the owner.

Frank Williams Jr. led us in the pledge of allegiance to get our meeting underway. President Kelly thanked everyone for coming over and made notice of a guest appearance made by former Chappy firefighter Alan Slater, who joined us at the station. What a pleasant surprise. The meeting on Chappy also marked the evening where the association votes for our annual scholarship recipients. The association is proud to offer three awards this year. Congratulations to Nickolas Fogt, Cassaundra Nordstrom, and Kyle Coulter. Good luck with all your future endeavors.

Chief Shemeth thanked everyone for the turning up for two early-morning practices this week, and went on to say that he was proud of each and every one us for a job well done at the 4th street fire. All the chiefs were pleased with the amount of teamwork displayed and were happy to see the officers lead by example. Engine One lost half their crew near 7 a.m., as the school bell tolls for these young firefighters.

Members of the association agreed to make a donation to the Kids Trout Tournament and to Sail Martha’s Vineyard. We are much honored to be able to support such valuable community activities in this way.

The association would like to welcome new members Frank Williams Jr., Chris Hathaway, Nick Hathaway and Steve Chirgwin. We also would like to welcome our new administrative assistant, Wendy Culbert. We were sad to see RaeAnne Smith retire to motherhood, but the good news is, it’s a girl. Paige P. Smith joined us on April 28, weighing in at 8 pounds, 14 ounces and was 21 inches long. Congratulations, RaeAnne, Eddie and Noah.

Congratulations to Asa Vought and his new bride, Heidi, as they tied the knot last month. Well wishes go out to Yvonne Sylvia, as she has returned home from the hospital. We are so glad to have her back in town in good health and spirits. Happy birthday to Kara Shemeth who celebrated on May 4.

Retired Capt. Dick Kelly would like to thank the volunteers who helped him place the flags for fallen firefighters in the Edgartown cemetery on Memorial Day weekend.

The association had a record-breaking turnout for our second annual Mother’s Day Brunch. More than 125 family members joined us at the station on Mother’s Day for a spectacular brunch catered by Lobster Tales. Guests also enjoyed littlenecks and oysters donated by Dan Larsen of Edgartown Seafood. The homemade desserts went quickly, thanks to everyone who baked these sweet treats for us. Our shark-shaped jumping castle from ABB Moonwalks of Bourne kept the little ones jumping away all morning long. Thanks to Ann Pennington of Tilton Tents for delivering the tables so promptly and to Anne Fligor at the Edgartown School for loaning us the chairs. All our mothers took home colorful potted plants to enjoy all season long. Special thanks to everyone on the department who helped set up for this event, and kept everything running smoothly.

Remember, as an unknown author once said, “Hug a firefighter and feel warm all over.”