Firefighter & EMS Responder of the Year
Honoring the Central Texas responders who set the standard, on and off the call.
District Firefighter of the Year
Recognizes a firefighter from a District 1 member department for exceptional service, leadership, training, and community involvement.
District EMS Responder of the Year
Recognizes an EMS responder whose patient care, professionalism, and service stand out across the district.
How nominations work
Nominees must belong to a member department in good standing (dues current).
- January 1 · Nominations openDownload the fillable nomination packet. One packet covers both awards; each department may nominate one firefighter and one EMS responder.
- Letter from the chiefAttach a nomination letter on department letterhead, signed by the chief officer, executive, assistant chief, or department president, plus up to four letters of recommendation.
- February 28 · Packets dueSave everything as a single PDF and email it to awards@ctffma.org.
- March–April · District reviewA district committee checks each packet for eligibility and scores it on a published 100-point rubric.
- Spring Convention · Winners announcedDistrict recipients are recognized and their packets are forwarded to SFFMA / VFIS of Texas for state-level consideration.
Traditions of recognition
The Association has long honored its members with the Rucker Attendance Trophy (since 1953), a traveling Mileage Trophy, pumper and three-person race trophies, fire prevention poster contest awards, and an annual scholarship to the TEEX Municipal Fire School supported by the Dale Sarter Memorial Fund.
Past recipients
| Year | Firefighter of the Year | EMS Responder of the Year |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Jonathan Schramm, Brenham FD | — |
| 2022 | Ryan Swor, Brenham FD | — |
| 2020 | Pam Ruemke, Brenham FD | — |
| 2019 | Robert Aguilar, Brenham FD | — |
| 2016 | Bill Gardner | — |
| 2015 | Andrew Josiwak | Dan Williams (first ever) |
| 2014 | Tim Mantey | — |
| 2013 | Teri Parkison | — |
| 2012 | Tank Nienstedt | — |
From convention minutes. Missing a year? Email awards@ctffma.org.