To help get in the spirit of St. Patrick's Day, I attended a "St. Baldrick's" event in Naperville, Ill., last week.

More than 150 Illinois firefighters from Stone Park, River Grove, Warrenville, Clarendon Hills and Naperville, as well as police officers and others, had their heads shaved to raise money to "conquer kids' cancer." What started as a friendly challenge among friends in 1999 grew to raise more than $5 million last year for children's cancer research from freshly shorn fund-raisers. It was a fun, heartwarming event, and it was great to see the support for too many young kids with cancer.

These mid-March festivities remind us that it's time to shake off the winter blahs and spring into action!

ATTEND IT! Thursday, April 6, is the Congressional Fire Services Institute's 18th Annual National Fire and Emergency Services Dinner and Seminars. The theme this year is "Leadership Saves Lives … So Everyone Goes Home." This is the day for the fire service in Washington, D.C. Contact your Congressional representatives and schedule an appointment to meet during the CFSI seminars before attending the dinner. Last year Class A fire uniforms flooded Capital Hill. Do it again this year! Let Congress see and hear you!

DO IT! What do you have when you get three fire chiefs, five lawyers and two seasoned expert witnesses together for 13 hours? A legal intensive for chiefs and chief officers! FIRE CHIEF's new Keys to Leadership Legal Seminar is scheduled for March 30-31 in downtown Chicago.

SCHEDULE IT! The second annual National Firefighter Safety Stand Down will begin Wednesday, June 21. An estimated 10,000 fire departments participated in the first stand down last June.

READ IT! Check out the NIMS Top Five Most Frequently Asked Questions, available as a PDF or text file. The National Incident Management System was developed so responders from different jurisdictions and disciplines could better respond together to natural disasters and emergencies, including acts of terrorism. NIMS includes a unified approach to incident management, standard command and management structures.

WATCH IT! You've come a long way, buddy, but maybe some of your peers haven't. Check out the historical review of the first women firefighters at FDNY, "Taking the Heat," on PBS.

ORDER IT! Requests for additional seatbelt posters included in our February issue continue to roll in. If you need additional posters for each of your stations, e-mail sales@rosenbaueramerica.com. Thanks again to those friendly folks at Rosenbauer!

DON'T MISS IT! Our premiere Station Style Conference will be held May 7-9 in Phoenix. The conference will focus on how to build a more effective public safety facility, from single fire stations to combination facilities. Award-winning architects will offer sessions on sustainable designs, integration of emergency services in facilities, and the latest trends in training facilities and engineering. There will be a unique pre-conference intensive focus group to help with your department's design questions, as well as a special post-conference tour of the overall award-winner of the 2005 Station Style Awards.

Have a Happy St. Patrick's Day!