9 months ago, several members of the Waldorf VFD came together with an idea to create challenge coins for each of the 4 divisions, Fire 3 & 12 and EMS 3 & 12. After quite a bit of hemming and hawing about the idea, these members approached the President of the Department about how to officially proceed with the idea. After receiving the President's guidance, the group got to work with Symbol Arts on creating the coins.

The group went through a total of 7 revisions on the coins. With each revision, the group brought the graphics to each division for comment and suggestions. The group working on the coin project decided at the beginning that this was not going to be just the opinions of the group in designing these coins. Active feedback from the members was essential in creating each divisions coin.

At the October business meeting, the official request to tentatively purchase the Department Challenge Coins was made. The Department membership voted in favor of purchasing the coins. Following the meeting, the Department Board of Directors met and voted to table the purchase until the November meeting. The Board of Directors requested that the final versions of the coins be published so that all the members could have a chance to see them. At the time of the meeting, the final versions of the coins were still pending.

Today, the Challenge Coin group is proud to present the final versions for the membership to see. The group would like to hear feedback from the department members. Please direct any comments or questions to the following individuals:

Fire 3 - David Klinikowski

EMS 3 - Barbra Martin-Klinikowski

Fire / EMS 12 - John Risdon

Email comments to - webmaster@waldorfvfd.com

A widely circulated story from World War I tells of an American pilot shot down behind enemy lines in Germany near the French border. This pilot was a lucky member of a squadron in which a wealthy member had medallions struck in bronze for each squadron member. Captured by Germans, he had all personal items confiscated, except the medallion which he carried in a pouch around his neck. Escaping, he donned civilian clothing and managed to cross to France. Stumbling into a French outpost, the soldiers there did not recognize him as American, and were about to execute him as a saboteur when he showed them his medallion. It served as convincing proof. Instead of a bullet, he received wine.

Today, challenge coins are carried by soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines, as well as local law enforcment and firefighters. These coins identify the carrier as a member of a unit, a clan, or a brotherhood.

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