The Honorable James M. Shannon received the Mason Lankford Fire Service Leadership Award at the 26th Annual National Fire and Emergency Services Dinner on May 1 in Washington, DC. Co-sponsored by the Congressional Fire Services Institute and Motorola Solutions, the award is the highest recognition in the fire and emergency services for individual leadership in advancing the readiness of the fire and emergency services at the local, state and national levels.
A former member of Congress and Attorney General for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Mr. Shannon has served as NFPA President for the past 12 years. In June, he will retire from this position following a remarkable 23-year career with the organization.
Under Shannon’s leadership, NFPA has made many significant contributions to the fire service at the federal level, including important studies on the needs of the fire service. These studies have been used extensively by the major fire service organizationS in congressional testimony and in letters to Congress advocating for continued support of federal grant programs, most notably the Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program and the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response Grant Program.
Shannon has also been a tireless advocate for the fire service at the state and local levels. He spearheaded the Coalition for Fire-Safe Cigarettes, which became the vehicle for approving fire-safe cigarette legislation at the state level. Within three years of the Coalition’s formation in 2006, all 50 states had approved fire-safe cigarette legislation, leading to significant reductions in the number of cigarette-related deaths.
“Jim cares about the health and safety of all firefighters – whether they serve in the largest metropolitan communities or the smallest rural communities,” said Domingo Herraiz, Vice President of Government Affairs for Motorola Solutions during the presentation. “And he also understands and embraces the need for departments to place equal importance on prevention, education, mitigation and response.”
In his remarks, Shannon offered this thanks and appreciation to those in the audience for the opportunity to work together on so many important issues. “The greatest privilege of my life is to have worked with you, the men and women of the American fire and emergency services,” said Shannon. He is the 16th recipient of Lankford award which has been presented to a broad spectrum of fire and emergency services leaders. Click here for additional information about the Lankford award.