The 2020 Schuylkill County Volunteer Firefighters Convention is being canceled this year.

The event was being hosted by Ringtown Valley Fire & Rescue Company.

The annual event was slated to be a full week of activities kicking off with a memorial service on Aug. 16 and concluding with the annual firefighters’ parade Aug. 22.

The officers of the Schuylkill County Volunteer Firefighters Association, in agreement with the Ringtown Valley convention committee, and under the guidance of the Schuylkill County Commissioners have made the very difficult decision to cancel this year’s convention and all associated events.

Hosting a convention requires several years of planning along with a financial investment, and the association is very disappointed to cancel this event after all of the hard work that was done by the Ringtown Valley convention committee in planning the 2020 convention.

This difficult decision was made due to the current status of the coronavirus pandemic in Pennsylvania. As the citizens of Schuylkill County work to prevent the spread of COVID-19 the association felt it would put the emergency providers and citizens at undue risk to hold the annual convention. As emergency service providers, safety is in our core values, and the association felt that it is in the best interest of everyone involved to limit our exposure and do our part to help stop the spread.

The SCVFA thanks the Ringtown Valley Fire Company for their time and efforts organizing the 2020 convention. Commemorative mugs have already been printed for the 2020 convention and are available for purchase by contacting the Ringtown Valley Fire & Rescue Company located at 46 W. Main St. in Ringtown, 570-889-3245.

The 67th annual convention will be hosted by the Minersville Fire Department with events throughout the week of Sept. 5 through Sept. 11, 2021.