More than 140 emergency vehicle technicians from around the country attended the recent Seventh Annual Southwest EVT Conference in Fort Worth, Texas. On the final day, 85 people took a total of 126 EVTCC certification exams.

During the conference, students had an expanded choice of 25 courses to attend this year, including an EVTCC L1 Law Enforcement Equipment Installation refresher course for those who have the responsibility for police patrol units.

Organizers of the Southwest EVT Conference and the Ohio Association of Emergency Vehicle Technicians continued to work together as part of a working relationship that the two groups formed last year. Kevin J. "Mac" MacRitchie, northeast director for OAEVT, was a special guest of the conference and worked side-by-side with the volunteer staff throughout the week.

The welcome reception on Monday evening was sponsored by Class1/Hale and drew a record crowd, as did the annual banquet on Wednesday evening, which was sponsored by Pierce Manufacturing. Other corporate sponsors included Spartan Chassis for Tuesday evening's maintenance roundtable dinner, as well as lunches provided by Stewart & Stevenson Services Inc. and Red Dot Corp. The annual vendor show held on Wednesday afternoon was very popular with suppliers and EVTs alike.

The Jim Bland Memorial Award was presented to Sherry Wilde of the EVT Certification Commission. Steven Wilde was this year's guest speaker at the annual banquet, as well as deputy chief Jay Peacock, training division, of the Fort Worth Fire Department.

One of the proudest moments for the event organizers was a special donation to the BA Challengers, a Special Olympics team out of the Tulsa, Okla., area. During the course of the week, volunteer staff accepted donations totaling over $1,700 from attendees. With matching funds from the Texas and Oklahoma EVT Associations, they were able to present the BA Challengers with a check for over $3,500. Molly Faucault of Broken Arrow, Okla., was on hand at the annual banquet to accept the donation on behalf of the BA Challengers.

For more information and photos of the conference, go to www.taevt.org.