 Thank you all for being here today, certain this is a great moment for us. We're always excited when this time of year comes around when we can do the MDA boot drive. True to this is something that is near and dear to all of the firefighters here and we just appreciate the MDA just letting us be a part of them and partnering with us as we go through this boot drive. We'll be doing this boot drive on this week. It'll be Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. You have firefighters on the corners throughout both the city and county with their boots collected money. And as you can see, we have a boot in front of us. So I've already started my collection. But tonight, we're actually going to keep this off at City Hall tonight when we do a proclamation for this month's boot drive. So like I said, you're going to see firefighters on several corners collecting money. We're very proud this year because we are about $25,000, $30,000 away from $3 million mark. So we certainly expect to collect $3 million on tomorrow, get to that mark tomorrow at $3 million. This is, we intimately got involved in this in the 90s but we've been doing this for over 50 years helping out with the MDA. So we're just proud of our firefighters. And we're just asking the public, when you see the firefighters out on the street, drop some money in the boot. Even if it's just empty, not your ass tray. We like the stuff that you can't hear when you drop it in the boot but we'll take the stuff that you can hear. So if you got money in your ass tray, you can drop that in but certainly we want to have a good drive this year. We're looking for nothing but the best. We're looking for a top year this year. And the other thing is, you know, while our firefighters are out there on the street collecting this money, we cannot do this without the public. So it's a partnership between the MDA, our firefighters and the public out there. We also want to thank both council, city and county council for giving us the ability and allowing us to get out on the streets to collect this money. And I'm so glad to be joined here today with Mr. Robert Watts from the MDA and we're going to present him at this time. Thank you chief. We live in a very philanthropic community here in Columbia and the Columbia Fire Department is a prime example of that. This is the 65th anniversary of the fill the boot campaign and this department ranks number one in the southeast and number 13 in the nation for the size of this campaign. As the chief stated with the public's health help this is a significant effort to serve the 7400 patients of our state who are living with muscular dystrophy. The funds raised from this campaign are going to send 140 children from the Midlands to summer camp. These are children who wouldn't be able to attend MDA summer camp if it wasn't for the efforts of the Columbia Fire Department. So we're very grateful for the support. The funds that are committed from this program also support research. The Muscular Dystrophy Association is the leading provider of neuromuscular research in America and this is a significant effort that we are all joining together as friends in this community to make the impact. So chief thank you very much for your leadership and everything that you and your team do for us and we're grateful for your efforts. Thank you. Again we'll be out on the streets this week Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from morning until evening. So stop by and help us find the cure for this dreaded disease. Certainly the firefighters and the command staff that's behind me they'll be out there with their boots. Certainly I'll be out there as well. So just look for the chief out there and I'm taking big bills okay? But anyway anything, anything, anything helps out and we're just asking for everybody to join in and help us with this cause and we'll take any question that you all may have. Chief it's always fun leading up the campaign but what's it like when you're able to turn that money over in season? You know what I'm going to let somebody answer that question because they didn't have a talking part but I'm going to let them answer that question and normally go to these camps. And who is captain? Come up here. Hey afternoon, thanks chief. My name is Captain Kemper, I'm the captain of engine 13 and I can tell you that the impact of seeing a kid be able to participate in a summer program who sometimes at school isn't able to walk and isn't able to do the things that other kids are able to do every day. When they go to camp with kids with muscular dystrophy as their camp mates, they're not singled out and they can do all the things that other people take for granted every day. They can go for a swim in the zero entry pool. They can go on a ropes course and swing through the air just like a normal kid and it's an amazing thing. So this is an extraordinary event and an extraordinary thing that Columbia does and we can't thank them enough for doing it. Can you give us your first name please sir? Sure, Victor Kemper. K-E-M-P-E-R. How do you know about the camp? Do y'all go visit? Do you have something up there? Sorry. No, please. The camp is... Say your question again one more time. Have you had personal experience at the camp? Is this something you've been able to see for yourself? Do your fellow firefighters go in the summer? How's that work? Yeah, there is a day, a firefighter day. We often try to go and maybe participate in a special activity or something like that. It's open to any of the firemen who collect, of course, throughout the campaigns and I've gone on multiple occasions just to see what camp is like and it's an amazing thing. I hate to say today we're turning the favor when you're there but is this something the kids are aware that these fundraisers are going on and they get the chance to thank you while you're on the site? Absolutely. The kids are super thankful. They love camp and they love that we help them give them the opportunity to get there. Thank God. Any other questions? Did you say what you raised last year, Chief? Did you have a number? Yeah, last year we raised $145,000 and this year we want to top that. Can you say what's it mean when you're here to the MDA telling you guys that you're number one in the Southeast? It means a whole lot because I would tell you these the men and women in this department put a lot of effort into what they do and they are intimately involved in when they are there collecting and I tell you one of the things that I'm excited about is the fact that we got the NCAA tournament going on and I'm hoping that brings more traffic which means bringing more dollars so I'm very excited about that. Duke is coming from New Jersey so they'll have more money, right? Absolutely and we want to get some of that New Jersey money. Thank you all.