On November 14, Flathead Electric Cooperative’s Roundup for Safety program awarded $46,776 in grants supporting community safety projects proposed by 10 local nonprofit organizations. During a heartwarming discussion, the Roundup for Safety Board of Directors heard Rollins Volunteer Fire Department (RFVD)’s request for $10,000 towards two sets of turnout gear. The Board’s questions allowed insight into three generations of the Gore family’s service to the Rollins VFD.
RVFD is an all-volunteer unit, with no paid positions, and supports Rollins, Lakeside, Somers and other Flathead and Lake County neighbors and visitors, as necessary via mutual aid service. Carey Cooley, RVFD Chief, discussed the group’s request for turnout gear, or personal protective equipment. Cooley oversees about 20 volunteer firefighters and noted that the number of recent wildfires in the Rollins area, such as the Niarada and Elmo fires, has created growth in the volunteer group.
“In this instance, growth is a wonderful problem to have,” Cooley told the Roundup for Safety Board. “However, we do not have enough personal protective equipment to outfit our volunteers, and what we do have is very old and coated in carcinogens. We originally received most of it, with great gratitude, as hand-me-downs from the Polson Fire Department, at least 15 years ago. We desperately need new gear to keep our volunteers safe when fighting structure and wildland fires and assisting in traffic accidents and other emergencies.”
During the ensuing discussion, the Board learned that Cooley’s father, Terry Gore, first joined the RVFD in the mid-1980s and went on to serve three stints as RVFD Chief, for a total of 19 years of service in the leadership role. Cooley’s mother, Linda Gore, first became RVFD secretary-treasurer in 1994. In total, she has served 21 years in that role and continues as secretary today.
Linda Gore accompanied Chief Cooley to the Roundup for Safety presentation and offered the Board valuable perspective on the changing nature, and volume, of requests that RVFD responds to each day. “With an increase in population in Rollins and all along the West Shore over the past few years, the number of fire calls has nearly doubled, including structure fires, wildland fires and additional ambulance assistance for the Lakeside Quick Response Unit. It takes about 50 minutes to get an ambulance from Polson, so Rollins is often the first on the scene of an emergency,” Gore shared.
Of her daughter, Gore noted, “Carey joined the RVFD as a cadet when she was 16 years old and took on the role of Chief in November 2023. So far, she’s given 32 years in support of the RVFD, all the while holding down a full-time job, as her father and I did before we retired. We’re so proud of her dedication to Rollins.”
Gore also shared that one of Carey’s three adult daughters joined the department two years ago as a cadet, becoming the third generation of the family to volunteer with the Rollins VFD. Now 18 years old, Addy Cooley is a regular member of the Rollins VFD and a freshman at Flathead Valley Community College. She has responded, with her Chief mom, to several fires, vehicle accidents, and other incidents.
The Roundup for Safety Board, established in 1997, expressed its gratitude for the Cooley family’s service to the Rollins community for over 40 years, and to all who serve Montana in first responder positions.
November grantees also include:
- Bigfork Youth Baseball Association – backstop – $6,000
- Glacier Lacrosse – helmets – $1,000
- Whitefish Library Association – AED – $1,500
- Evergreen Fire Rescue Department – swift water/ice water rescue gear – $12,000
- Glacier Symphony – steps, ramp — $5,000
- Friends of Flathead Snowmobile Association – avalanche training – $4,500
- Lincoln County – Kootenai River safety map – $3,000
- Friends of the Flathead Avalanche Center – data/imagery infrastructure upgrade – $3,776
Roundup for Safety funding comes from participating Flathead Electric Cooperatives members who allow their monthly electric bills to be rounded up to the nearest dollar. The program costs each member about $6 per year and has provided over $5 million in funding since 1997.
Roundup for Safety is a voluntary program for Co-op members who round up their electric bills to the next dollar. This money is managed by an independent board and goes into a fund for community safety projects. If your nonprofit is interested in applying for community safety funds, visit our Roundup for Safety page or call the Roundup for Safety Board Liaison:
Courtney Stone
Communications & Marketing Supervisor
