Polk Township Volunteer Fire Company gathered Saturday evening for its annual appreciation banquet.

President Aaron Keller highlighted two major accomplishments of 2019 — the renovation of the social hall and the 50th anniversary celebration in June.

The renovation included new lighting, bead board and trim on the walls, an accent wall of stone near the stage, updated bar area, laminate flooring, updated audio/visual equipment, fresh coats of paint and a rebuilt tray bar.

They hired Robert K. Ace Jr. Construction, located in Tannersville.

“They not only met our completion date goal, but exceeded it by a week,” said Bill Tippett, chair of the Building and Grounds committee, during his remarks Saturday.

The 50th anniversary celebration included a parade from Pleasant Valley Intermediate to the firehouse, a ceremony and party outside the firehouse.

“That was a long time of planning. I’d like to thank the anniversary committee,” Keller said.

Keller called Eddie Arnold, Polk’s first fire chief and one of the founding members, up to the podium to say a few words.

His brief remarks were about the several neighboring fire departments that brought their apparatus to the festivities and congratulated them on the milestone event.

He named Quarryville Fire Company specifically, noting that Polk purchased a firetruck from them in 1969. He and two Quarryville firefighters had a picture taken together at the 50th anniversary.

“They took that photo and made it into a plaque,” said Arnold, as held up the plaque.

He later set it on a center table for all to see.

Four firefighters were honored for milestone years of service. Collectively, it adds up to 85 years. The recipients were: Bryan Beck, five years; John Engels, 10 years; Candy Burger, 35 years; and Bernie Shea, 35 years.

In 2019, the fire company “responded to 207 emergencies with 44 of them being reported structure fires. Firefighters and fire police completed approximately 1,991 hours of training, which equates to an average of 83 hours per member. We brought three new members into our ranks and had three members successfully complete Firefighter 1,” said fire Chief Billy Tippett.

In the middle of the year, Polk firefighters were asked to assist Towamensing Township with fire protection coverage, along with Aquashicola and Franklin fire companies.

The fire company also participated in the first West End Firemen’s Festival.

“2019 was a busy year for us,” he said.

Travis Strohl was named Firefighter of the Year, and John Engels was honored as the Member of the Year.

Keller and Tippett thanked Polk Township supervisors Michael Hurley, Carl Heckman and Brian Ahner — who were in attendance — for their continued support of and commitment to the fire department.

“As times change and we work on keeping up with sometimes unrealistic standards, you guys have our back and it’s great to know you support our company,” Tippett said.

Tippett said the fire company will receive $80,000 from the township this year. They will receive the funding in installments.

The money will be used for various initiatives: $5,000 for the banquet, $10,000 toward the principal payment of the hall renovation, $15,000 toward the principal payment of a 2016 rescue engine and the remaining $50,000 for air packs.

“With the help of our supervisors, we will be purchasing new self-contained breathing apparatus to replace our aging SCBAs, which will give us better breathing equipment for fighting fires and meeting standards,” Tippett said.

Tippett said the fire company is also receiving local grant money, which will be used for a new cascade system to refill the air cylinders on their SCBAs.

Patsy Ann George and Edna Schoenberger, incoming president and outgoing president of the Ladies Auxiliary, respectively, presented Keller with a check for $20,000.

“I hope to get more people involved in the auxiliary. We are always looking for more volunteers,” George said.

The 2020 line officers are: Billy Tippett, chief; Derrick Burger, deputy chief; Matt Schessler, assistant chief; Aaron Keller, captain; lieutenants Jim Schaefer and Travis Strohl; chief engineer Chad Snyder; Joel Kingsbury, engineer; and John Engels, fire police captain.

The 2020 executive officers are: Aaron Keller, president; Chad Snyder, vice president; Joel Kingsbury, secretary; Cindy Haydt, treasurer; directors Rich Beck, Travis Strohl, Rusty Burger, Bill Campbell, Wendy Cronshey, Bryan Beck and John Engels.

The 2020 Ladies Auxiliary officers are: Patsy Ann George, president; Helen Alpaugh, vice president; Sue Shoemaker, secretary; Gail Anders, treasurer; corresponding secretary Vicki Serfass; and Dottie Jeker, event coordinator.

Cook’s Corner catered the event. Darrin Burger was the disc jockey for the party after the awards presentation.