For the second time in four years, the Lake Harmony Volunteer Fire Company will be hosting the Pennsylvania State Firemen's Association state convention in 2015.

The convention, last hosted locally in 2011, drew firefighters, fire company delegates and their families from across the state.Lake Harmony Fire Chief Ralph Lennon made the announcement Monday during a gathering of city and township dignitaries at the Galleria at Split Rock Resort.Lennon took the opportunity to thank everyone who made the event a success in 2011."The firefighters and their families have been asking us when we were going to host the convention again. There is so much for the families to do in the area they really enjoyed it," said Lennon.Split Rock Resort will be the host site for the convention."What's so great about an event like this is not just that money is spent here at the resort," explained Chuck Dickinson, director of facilities for Split Rock, "but it's the restaurants, the shops, convenience stores, even the Wine and Spirit stores that benefit. There is so much money that gets into the community from these events."It's not just the people from out of the area," Dickinson continued, "but with the parade on Saturday it brings out the local people as well. 2011 was a tremendous success."According to Lennon the convention will take place over four days in late September 2015. The convention starts with registration and a golf outing on Wednesday, Sept. 23.The days are filled with workshops for the delegates, and in the evenings there will be banquets."Every year there is an award ceremony which honors not just firefighters, but also civilians, police and EMS workers who have risked their lives to save others, " Lennon said. "We also have a very moving memorial service to remember and honor firefighters whom we have lost."The 2015 convention will have a theme of sorts according to Lennon."We want to stress the importance of being a volunteer fireman," Lennon said."Volunteerism is critical to the success of the volunteer fire service," said Stephen Lilick, eastern vice president of the state firemen's association and Lake Harmony Deputy Chief. "PSFA has received two state grants for the purpose of 'recruitment and retention' for volunteer firefighters. Taxpayers don't realize how much money the volunteer firefighter saves them. According to a National Fire Protection Association study, volunteer firefighters save the country over $100 billion per year over a paid fire service."There will also be a large fire expo where vendors will be able to exhibit.The convention culminates with the parade. The parade will take place at 1 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 26.The parade route runs two miles from Big Boulder area to the Galleria at Split Rock."Last time we had all of the Carbon County high school bands marching in the parade; we hope to have them again this time. We also had local Cub Scouts holding the banners in the parade," said Lennon.Lennon said that as time for the event comes closer there will be a link on the Lake Harmony Volunteer Fire Companies website for local businesses to advertise so that visitors coming into the area will be able to get information to help plan their trip.