Articles

HOW DO YOU MEASURE GREATNESS? By Ettore Berardinelli Over the many years since I’ve retired, I have been asked to come back and speak to my Fire Department’s new recruits during their initial [...]

Our previous article in this series discussed everyone’s opportunity to be a teacher through setting the example and mentoring, and how one person’s example can be such an effective method of [...]

EVERYONE’S A TEACHER It’s fair to say that most of us think that the requirements to be called a teacher are a four-year college degree and a state certified teaching credential.  But think about [...]

  As we are in the middle of the Covid-19 crisis my thoughts and probably yours revolve around family and friends. The Stay at Home requirement can become stressful. It can be a very sad [...]

As we are in the middle of the Covid-19 crisis my thoughts and probably yours revolve around family and friends. The Stay at Home requirement can become stressful. It can be a very sad time if [...]

SO YOU WANT TO GET PROMOTED • THE WRITTEN EXAMINATION PART 1 Believe it or not, taking a promotional written examination brings on a state of nervousness for most of us.  We all worry about [...]

          I thoroughly enjoyed my years in the fire service, and as I look back on my career, I believe that some of my best times were the [...]

SHARING ORGANIZATIONAL VALUES AND ETHICS When I was the Department Training Officer for the Santa Monica Fire Department we conducted several recruit classes.  I really enjoyed this part of my [...]

PAYING ATTENTION TO LIFE’S LESSONS Our lives are often shaped by direct and indirect influences.  In the past we’ve discussed the various experiences that often affect our lives.  It’s always [...]

The Cedar Fire Terrible Fire, Bad Press, Good Outcome After my wonderful, fun and rewarding 31 year with the Santa Monica Fire Department, I was asked and accepted to become the Interim Fire [...]