Fireman's Ball draws a large crowd

The second annual Fireman’s Ball held Saturday night at the VFW in Plains was another huge success for the local fire department with large crowds filling every seat in the VFW hall awaiting a served dinner and live entertainment.

The second annual Fireman’s Ball held Saturday night at the VFW in Plains was another huge success for the local fire department with large crowds filling every seat in the VFW hall awaiting a served dinner and live entertainment.

The evening, which included a live auction and large door prizes, started with a dinner with meat donated by McGowan’s grocery and corn muffins made by the Butcher’s Nook, which Fire Chief for the Plains Rural Fire Department said they got an amazing deal on. The live auction showcased a plethora of items up for bid, all of which were donated from local businesses around the community.

“There were a few more people than last year, but the support was equal or greater. Last year was the first year and we didn’t know what to expect and it was as many people last year as this year,” said Ballantyne.  The fire department pulled in around $4,000 at last year’s ball.

The largest door prize of the night was an outdoor grill, made possible by Gambles. Ballantyne said they decided to offer the grill as a door prize instead of making it part of the auction because the fire department wanted to have something to give back to the community for all of its support. Derick VonHeeder of Plains went home with the grill.

Following the auction, the evening continued with live entertainment put on by a musical group out of Missoula called Zeppo MT.

This year the Fireman’s Ball raised between $7,000 and $7,500 after all expenses were paid.  Ballantyne said once the numbers are finalized they will begin looking at where to direct the money.  Last year’s earnings went for the purchasing of a new wild land truck they bought from state surplus equipment.  The new truck was on display outside of the VFW on Saturday evening.

Currently, the fire department has a few pending grant applications out for new equipment and they are waiting to hear back from the grant sources before officially deciding what they are going to do with this year’s earnings.  Ballantyne said they will either use the money to update the firefighters personal equipment if the grant does not come through or they will direct the money towards major improvements on one of their fire trucks.

Ballantyne said when he grew up in a rural area of the Midwest, the fire departments always had a Fireman’s Ball.  He said years ago in Plains there used to be a Fireman’s Ball and last year they decided to bring it back.  The fire department is hoping to put on a third ball next year.

“Every year you learn something new with events like this so hopefully we can make it better and have more fun for the folks,” said Ballantyne. “I hope everyone had a good time and realizes it’s an example of community spirit and with somewhat strange times upon us the value of community is more important than ever and there is a value in spending a little more and buying local.”