On the weekend of June 2, Louisville Fire Department Deputy Chief Robert Hutto was elected to the position of Vice-President of the East Central District of the Mississippi Firefighters Association (MFFA). The East Central District is made up of 12 counties: Attala, Choctaw, Kemper, Lauderdale, Leake, Lowndes, Neshoba, Newton, Noxubee, Oktibbeha, Scott and Winston Counties.
Hutto said, “Basically, my responsibility is to help the flow of information. Information, in our business is vital. So as things come down from the state level, such as upcoming legislation, grant opportunities, various other things that could affect us as fire services in the State of Mississippi, it is my responsbility to make sure that information gets out.”
Hutto stated that he will be networking with the fire coordinators and fire chiefs in each of the counties, and plans to visit each county at some point during the year. He will also listen to the needs and concerns of those local fire departments and report those back to the MFFA Executive Committee. He added that he personally knows the fire coordinators in several of the counties and has created a contact list to reach out to all of them.
Hutto said that at one time Winston County had the largest representation in the MFFA, which is open to career and volunteer firefighters. Winston County’s participation has dropped off over the years, and Hutto stated that he wants to work at rebuilding that. He wants to also make prospective members aware of the benefits, including scholarship opportunities, $2K death benefit, eligibility to attend conferences and more.
Hutto has an Associate of Applied Science Degree in Fire Science from Columbia Southern University and a Bachelor’s Degree in Fire Administration from Waldorf University. He added that it is a great honor to be elected to the position of Vice-President.
For more information on the Mississippi Firefighters Association visit their website at: www.mffa.com.
