| ROSWELL/CLOVIS, NM - On March 28th, 2008 Retired Clovis Fire Chief Bill Morey, age 58, had passed away. What a bitter-sweet occasion it was when firefighters from across New Mexico came together to celebrate his life. This loss leaves a gaping hole in New Mexico's Fire Service community. While Chief Morey assumed many roles (Chief, Mentor, Peer, and Friend), his years of providing instruction to many of today's volunteer and career firefighters helped create his legacy.
Bill Morey’s passion for the fire service started when he was 4 years old, and remained with him until his passing. He joined the Roswell Fire Department on June 1st, 1967 and had risen through the ranks, retiring as their Deputy Fire Chief on December 1st of 1990. He then took the job of Fire Chief for the City of Clovis. He served that position from December 3rd, 1990 to June 3rd, 1996. At the time of his death he was working for AAA Fire Pro Fire Equipment of Clovis.
Chief Morey’s career was full of accomplishments that made him one of the most respected fire officers in New Mexico. He was past president of New Mexico Fire Chiefs Association, and an adjunct instructor for New Mexico Fire Fighter Academy. He sat on the Board of Directors for New Mexico Municipal League and served as an advisor to State Fire Marshal’s Office for specification for fire apparatus. He was also past member of the IAFC and ISFSI. He was well renowned for his often dry satirical wit, quick laugh, and storytelling abilities.
Services were held on April 2nd, 2008 at the Grace Community Church in Roswell NM and were followed by a procession and graveside service at Lawn Haven Cemetery in Clovis, NM. Both services were well attended by firefighters from around the State. Honor Guards from both the Roswell and Clovis Fire Departments also participated in the ceremonies.
Posted by Linda Gaume on 04/04 at 11:35 AM
Category: Announcements •
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 As you are aware, I attended Chief Morey’s Funeral yesterday and thought I would share the experience with you as it was truly a very memorable event. I was invited to ride with the members of the East Grand Plains Fire Department in their new Pumper that they had just picked up from the Smeal factory. The service at Grace Community was very nice, there were several speakers that addressed Bill’s life, his accomplishments, his dedication to Fire Services and his families, in addition to these speakers they had a power point presentation that was very powerful and provided a glimpse into Bill’s life and his family. At the close of the service a Clovis Battalion Chief sang “I’ll Fly Away” and the service was concluded.
Once the service was over, the Funeral procession, including cars, Suburban’s and Fire units pulled out onto Mescalero and then turned North onto Main Street. As we passed the intersection of Washington and Mescalero, The new East Grand Plains ladder truck and the City of Roswell Ladder trucks had their ladders extended into the air and had two flags, the American Flag and the Fallen Firefighter Flag. The sight of those trucks lifted in unison and both flags flying were both emotionally stirring and sobering, from there we left the City of Roswell and headed to Clovis. During that trip, every small town that we went through that the intersections blocked off for the procession and as we passed by, we saw Fire trucks lining the side of the streets with Firefighters saluting as we passed, once the end of the procession passed them, they then pulled out onto the road and fell in line with the procession. It was in every small town and every area that a volunteer fire organization is located along that route, and it was so powerful and touching that it silenced everyone in our truck.
As the procession grew, and we proceeded, we noticed that the on-coming traffic was stopped completely and stayed that way until the last unit passed, very often there were three vehicles spanning the width of the on coming traffic lanes insuring that respect was paid to the procession. There were people standing along the roadside watching and when passing through areas there were children waving at the trucks while the parents stood and watched. As we started to arrive in Clovis again the procession passed un-hampered by street lights or stop signs as every intersection was blocked by law enforcement officers, many of them saluted as we passed.
Once we arrived at the Church, we were served a very nice meal and everyone was given a chance to stretch their legs and take a break. Approximately 15 minutes to 3:00p.m. we were told the Honor Guards were going to exchange the casket and we all headed outside. It was very quiet, the breeze was soft and the air was warm and you could hear the kids playing at P.E. in the school yard across the street. Then you heard the Honor Guard receiving their orders to begin and everyone got incredibly quiet. The City of Roswell Fire Department Honor Guard members worked in perfect unison with the City of Clovis Honor Guard. They saluted, the bag pipes started playing and as the casket was being removed from the City of Roswell Suburban, the Honor Guard received orders to change directions so both sides faced each other. Then they received orders to change direction, in perfect unison, while holding the casket level, they turned in direction with the Roswell Honor guard facing one direction and the Clovis side facing another. They stood perfectly still, and then we noticed that the children that had been playing at P.E. were now lined up along the fence line of their playground on their knees watching silently as the Honor Guards flawlessly performed their duties. At this point, the peacocks at the zoo started calling out and you started to hear the rumble of a helicopter overhead.
The Honor Guard then received their order to turn a full 360 degree circle as the Aero Care helicopter passed, circled and hovered overhead. Once their circle was completed, the members received their orders to return facing each other, as this was also executed flawlessly, the Helicopter landed in a field next to the Church and the flight members got out and stood at attention. All this while the Honor Guard stood silently, facing each other waiting for their next order and then when it came, they lifted the casket above their heads again, smoothly and flawlessly and when it was lifted and held high, they received their orders to move forward and transfer the casket to the top of a City of Clovis Pumper unit that was draped in black crepe.
Once this was accomplished, the Honor Guard was given orders to return facing each other, to present arms and they slowly lifted their arms in a salute and while the bag pipes played and the call of the peacock drifted slowly across the breeze, the children stayed silent and so did the crowd. Once the arms were lowered in unison, they received their orders to return facing the City of Roswell suburban and move forward until they were back in their original places where they were dismissed at that point the announcement was made that the procession would head north from the church parking lot and head to the cemetery.
The procession that had grown tremendously from the time we left Roswell grew again with the addition of Clovis Fire personnel, family, friends and co-workers. Everyone was so silent as they headed to their trucks, they were somber and quiet as they started the engines and proceeded to leave the church. Once we left the church parking lot, we headed north, passing through neighborhoods with cars pulled over and lining the streets, individuals who were picking up their children from school, and the children all stood watching as the trucks passed them. As we proceeded through the town, the number of people lining the streets watching and waiting grew in numbers and it stayed that way until we pulled into the cemetery. As we pulled into the cemetery, there was a memorial area where the flag poles stood guard over a monument that had the words “Bill Morey, Firefighter” on them in Bronze lettering. The procession pulled through the circular drive that was laid out by Cemetery staff and pulled into the parking area where we again watched the Honor Guard remove the casket from the Pumper while the bag pipes played Amazing Grace until it was placed for the graveside Memorial Service. We watched in silence as the Honor Guard again moved in slow but precise motion while they removed the American Flag from the top of the casket, fold it and then present it to the family.
 The pastor spoke eloquently about Bill, his life, and his passing, he spoke about heaven and forgiveness and then a solo was again performed by the Clovis Battalion Chief as he sang The Lords Prayer. At the closing of the Memorial Service there was a reading given regarding the history of the ringing of the Bell for Fire Services. During the reading it was explained that before tones existed to send Firefighters out to a response, bells were used and at the end of the reading, very slowly and deliberately, they rang the bell, once, twice and three times. Once the ringing of the bell was completed, the tones rang out for Chief Morey and final call was sent out for him and as the words “May he rest in peace” closed final call, the air was heavy with emotion and silence. As you gazed across the crowd of people, there were tears, hugs and silence as people stood in line to pay respects to his family.
At the end of the service, there were more tears, hugs and laughter as individuals talked quietly in small groups about Bill, and then, slowly, everyone started heading back to their units and drove away.
The entire day was emotional, powerful and incredible. There is a great deal to be said about the heart of the Fire Service, the people that pulled over in respect and the communities that all came together to make this happen. It says a lot about the man they came together to pay respects to and it speaks volumes about his contribution to every aspect of Fire Services in New Mexico, and his pride in his families, all of them; personal, professional and chosen, at the end of the day, all that can be said is that we loved him, we respected him, and we are going to miss him, but above all, we are all blessed to have known him and are better people for having him influence our lives the way he did.
Article written by Georgianna Hunt
Posted by Linda Gaume on 03/31 at 03:29 PM
Category: Announcements •
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ENMR Plateau Announces two additional Grant Programs;
The Public Safety Education Grant and
The Education Foundation School Grant to assist Rural Communities in the ENMR•Plateau Landline Service Area
Clovis, NM- Rural Public Safety agencies are often at a disadvantage in expanding their knowledge and meeting mandated training requirements due to a lack of funds available from the municipalities, towns, villages or counties in which they serve. Most rural communities have volunteers who assist in both fire-fighting and emergency medical response. Rural police agencies lack the necessary training funds to send their officers for required continued education training. In order to assist with the training and educational costs associated with maintaining well-trained and certified law enforcement, fire protection, EMS, EMT and paramedic training, the ENMR Plateau Board of Directors approved a new grant known as the Public Safety Education Grant.
ENMR Plateau is also offering opportunities for schools and school personnel within the ENMR service area to obtain financial support to improve teaching and learning activities through the newly approved Education Foundation School Grant. Funds will become available on a competitive basis for school districts, individual schools, departments within schools, groups of classroom teachers, or individual teachers. Special consideration will be given to grant requests that propose the use of broadband Internet as a tool. Applications are typically for one year’s initiative and are competitive; however, applications may be considered for multi-year funding depending on the strengths of the request and justification for continued activity.
In an effort to better strengthen and develop communities served by ENMR Plateau, awards of funds will be limited to schools and public safety agencies which are located within an ENMR landline service exchange. All applications will be reviewed by a board appointed committee and the ENMR Plateau Board of Directors. Awards will be presented in amounts not to exceed $5,000 per request. All grant funds will be distributed directly to the school district or public safety agency from which the application originated, although groups may join together and apply on a single application.
According to ENMR Plateau’s CEO, Tom Phelps, “ENMR Plateau is pleased to offer these two grants to our area schools and public safety agencies. These dedicated men and women train to make certain we receive the necessary care when we most need it and devote time and energy in teaching school children. We are glad to assist with emergency response training funds and encourage innovation in teaching. This is another example of how we value relationships with our ENMR service area.”
To review the eligibility requirements and to obtain an application for each grant, please visit the company’s web site www.enmr.com. The grants will be listed as “Public Safety Education Grant” and “Education Foundation School Grant” under the heading for donations and the link for scholarships and grants.
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Posted by Linda Gaume on 03/31 at 07:13 AM
Category: Announcements •
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