Members of the Laurel Volunteer Fire Department honored volunteers for their service at the department's annual awards banquet Oct. 12 at the Laurel Police Department's Partnership Hall.
Michael Sellner, a member of the Board of Trustees who has been a Fire Department volunteer for 44 years, was named Firefighter of the Year, and also was presented with the President's Award.
"It's all about team work," Sellner said after receiving his awards. I can't ask for a better group of people. ... We are there for each other."
The Fire Chief's award was presented to Brian Cox, and the Richard C. Grimes Award was presented to Dave Cunningham.
The banquet was dedicated to three Laurel residents: Former Mayor Joseph Robison, a life member and volunteer since 1951, who is a charter member and life member of the Laurel Volunteer Rescue Squad; his wife, Joann Robison, a charter member of the LVRS who has more than five decades of service to the Maryland State Firemen's Association and helped steer the formation of ambulance and rescue service in Maryland; and City Council member Ed Ricks, a life member who marked 50 years of LVFD membership in June.
In his remarks at the banquet, LVFD President Vic Whipple reminded the members of what drives them to volunteer: "Service for others, that's our motto."