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IN MEMORIAM
On April 22,
2011, the Board for Volunteer Firefighters and
Reserve Officers lost a great friend, mentor, and
leader.
Herb (Hub) Faubion
was the first executive secretary for the Board.
This agency was his dream, vision, and
legacy. Besides
leading the agency for 23 years, Herb also was a
volunteer firefighter with the Town of
Cathlamet
and Lacey Fire for over 40 years.
Although he
left the agency, he never lost his love for it.
Even at his 100th birthday party
a few months ago, he talked fondly about his years
with the agency and the struggle he had to secure
enough funding for the system to ensure that
pension and disability coverage would be available
for future generations.
Herb was
asked, at his party, how he had lived to be 100.
At first, he joked that he just kept
breathing. After
a small pause, he looked up at the person he was
speaking to and said “Be nice to everyone,
because everybody matters”.
Without a doubt, that is how Herb lived his
life. The
first piece of advice he dispensed to every
Executive Secretary was to always “Err on the
side of the firefighter” when in doubt.
It is something we still return to whenever
debating coverage questions, and the State Board
has repeated it more than once when faced with
difficult decisions.
Herb made huge
contributions to his fire departments, his
communities, and every firefighter in
Washington
State
. He
will be missed, but he will never be gone because
his vision continues to live on through every
injured firefighter we support, every surviving
spouse that we help, and every retirement we pay.
Thanks, Herb,
for all you did, and thanks to the family without
who’s support, Herb couldn’t have been the
leader he was.
Memorial
information will be posted as soon as it is
available.
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