At the Annual Banquet held on January 26 2008 at Hartford Heights V.F.C.

Two awards were presented:
 

“The Leonard (Lenny) Bailey Jr. Story”

 Born on December 30, 1950 to Leonard R. Sr. and Margaret Bailey. He was raised his whole life in Elizabeth, PA. He graduated from Elizabeth High School. He worked for 15 years at Consolidated Coal into his 20’s or 30’s. It was around this time in his life he felt drawn to open a Volkswagon Repair Shop, “Lenny’s VW”, and became widely known for his knowledge and expertise of these vehicles. It is somewhat known while running this shop that he loved so much, he helped many people with repairs on their vehicles they may never have been able to afford at a different repair shop.
 On May 11, 1979, “Lenny” married his wife Linda. Between them they raised daughter’s Cher Moser, Rena Stirling and LeeAnn Bailey, and son Lenny R. Bailey III. There are two grandchildren, Derek Dichiera and Lenny R. Bailey IV. Lenny also has a sister, Janice Bailey-Hooe.
 Lenny joined the Elizabeth Volunteer Fire Company on December 30, 1971 on his 21^st birthday. He was also, throughout his life, active with Blaine Hill, West Elizabeth and Bunola Volunteer Fire Companies. He became Chief of Elizabeth VFC in 1998 and held that position at multiple times until his untimely death on September 12, 2007 at the age of 56 while answering a fire call at what was once a family owned business. He never made it out of his house.
 Lenny was in his second term serving on the Elizabeth Borough Council, following in his father, Leonard Sr.’s, footsteps.

 Lenny was known to many in the following ways:
            “A Pillar of his Community”
            “Mr. Elizabeth Borough”
           “Top Shelf”
            “Mentor”
            “Extremely Dedicated to his Profession”
            “A Mainstay in this Community”
The Lily Pad diner, a place where Lenny spent quite a lot of time, has permanently reserved Lenny’s ‘seat’ in his honor. The diner used to seat 28 people, now it is 27. They have pushed the table against the wall. They are planning a wall of pictures and possibly a placard on “his” seat.
Lenny’s daughter LeeAnn sums it up the easiest – “I’m actually glad he went that way.” “He didn’t get to say goodbye, but he didn’t suffer.”
And now, in honor of Leonard R. (Lenny) Bailey, Jr. – the Mon Yough Fire Defense Council Posthumously presents this plaque to his family thanking them for allowing Lenny to give of himself so many times throughout his life in so many different ways and the ultimate sacrifice, His life doing what he knew best – Fighting Fires, Helping People, and Saving Lives.

Name of Nominee:  Dan Miller

Vigilant Hose Co. #1 – Port Vue
Nominated by: Gary Kulka, Chief
 

The Story
On May 18, 2007, Captain Dan Miller responded to a call of a working structure fire. He made the initial knock down and stayed on scene for the duration of the call.  Once Dan found out the homeowner was a single mom on disability with no homeowners insurance, he did not hesitate to coordinate an effort to re-build this home for her.  Dan is a private contractor and he spent the entire summer helping to bring this family back home before school started. On August 25, 2007, they moved back home.
This truly was an act of going above and beyond the call of duty. Dan Miller has served our department for more than 25 years and I’m proud to call him our Captain.
 

 Outstanding Service Award
 

The Mon Yough Fire Defense Council is looking for nominations for an Outstanding Service Award. We are looking for someone who has absolutely gone above and beyond the call of duty in the Fire, Rescue, EMS or any field a member company is involved in. Individuals can be nominated by any member of a department in the Mon Yough Fire Defense Council.  If you feel you know of such a person or persons who have demonstrated Outstanding Service, please complete the application below. Use the back and/or additional paper as needed. This form may be copied for multiple nominations. Return the completed form by December 15, 2008 to person named below.
 

Name of member being nominated:  _____________________________________________________________

Member Organization:  _______________________________________________________________________
 

Name of person nominating this person:  __________________________________________________________
 

Phone Number (for clarification purposes if needed):  _________________________________________________
 

Please explain why this person should receive such an honor:  __________________________________________
 

__________________________________________________________________________________________
 

___________________________________________________________________________________________
 

___________________________________________________________________________________________
 

___________________________________________________________________________________________
 

Please return completed form to:

Ken Obusek, Award Chairperson

1626 Kansas Avenue

White Oak, PA  15131

Or email to:

wosongman@comcast.net