On Saturday morning, perhaps one of the last good days before the onset of winter temperatures and the threat of snow, there was a reason to be thankful, extremely thankful.
Valero of Albion representatives maintenance technician Jake Schwarting and shipping/recovery supervisor Tony Getzfred came to the Elgin Fire Hall around 11 a.m. to make a presentation. They, on behalf of the business, presented the Elgin Volunteer Fire Department with a check – a very big check.
Valero donated $20,000 to the fire department – one of the largest single donations in recent years.
Elgin Fire Chief Greg Henn accepted the check on behalf of the EVFD. He told The Elgin Review, the money will be used to purchase necessary equipment for the grass rig.
The Albion Valero plant, produces ethanol, distillers grains livestock feed and fuel- and feed-grade corn oil. Altogether, 60 employees work at the plant with a production capacity of 135 million gallons per year. More than 15,000 hours volunteered by Albion plant employees supporting local nonprofits since 2013
Fundraising campaign
The EVFD has begun their annual fundraising campaign.
Letters were recently mailed out and donations have begun to come in.
Included in the letter was a breakdown of service provided by EVFD members in 2024. Among them were:
• 12 Fire/Emergency calls were responded to during that time period, resulting in 186 man hours.
• Eight practice/work nights results in 335 man hours of training.
• Six hours of storm watch training.
• Altogether, there are 31 community member volunteers ready to respond when called upon.
• Assisting EMTs on ambulance calls
• Provided traffic control for local law enforcement when necessary.
In 2025, the EVFD are looking to purchase additional equipment for a new grass rig and help maintain their current list of vehicles and inventory.
