Assistant Chief Don Davids is a resident of Aurora, Illinois. He has been a member of the Aurora Fire Department as a Firefighter/Paramedic for 26 years, currently assigned as Assistant Chief of Support Services. In this role, he oversees purchasing and maintenance of major equipment as well as buildings and grounds. He has extensive experience in diversified roles including 24 years as a member of the water rescue team, 15 years with the Hazardous Materials Response Team, 8 years as the Team Coordinator.
Chief Joe Holomy has been in the fire service since 1976, beginning as a volunteer Firefighter in northern Illinois Southwest of Chicago. He worked his way up through the paid ranks, becoming a Paramedic then being promoted to Lieutenant in 1988, Deputy Chief in 1994 and becoming a Chief in 2001. He then retired as Fire Chief of Effingham in 2018 after serving 14 years. He currently is serving as Interim Chief in Litchfield and is a volunteer Assistant Chief for Teutopolis FPD.
He has a Bachelor’s Degree in Public Administration, holds numerous State of Illinois Fire Certifications to include Fire Officer III, Instructor III, and Arson Investigator. Chief Holomy was first Conferred as a Chief Fire Officer (CFO) by the Commission on Professional Credentialing in 2004 having recertified five times to date being 1 of 1,391 Chief Officers worldwide. He is a 2016 Graduate of the National Fire Academy (Emmitsburg, Maryland) Executive Fire Officer (EFO) program. He serves on numerous committees across the State to include the Illinois Terrorism Task Force, the Illinois Fire Service Institute Fire Advisory Board, and Chairman of the Illinois State Fire Marshal Fire Advisory Board. He is Past President of the Illinois Fire Chiefs Association (IFCA) having served on the Executive Board from 2005 to 2014 and remains on several committees within the Association and is Past President of MABAS Division 54 (2005-2018). Chief Holomy is a state certified assessor for promotional testing in assessment centers for Firefighters challenging promotional exams to various ranks in the fire service.
In February 2017, Chief Holomy was elected Secretary on the Executive Board for MABAS-IL which oversees the 69 Divisions within the state. Chief Holomy received Firefighter of the Year in 1992 and 2006, Unit Citations 1995 and 1996, Commendation Award 1999, Valor in 2000, Humanitarian Awards in 2005 and 2008 and Merit Award 2007. In addition, he received the Illinois Police Association Citizens Award for Valor in 2000 and Illinois Fire Chief of the Year in 2009.
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Kevin Lyne serves as Operations Branch Chief for the IL-TF 1 Urban Search and Rescue (US&R) Team. Kevin has more than 29 years of fire service experience. He began his career as a firefighter/paramedic with the Burbank Fire Department. In 1986, he became as a firefighter/paramedic with the Naperville Fire Department, where he progressed through the ranks and retired after 28 years as the Division Chief.
Kevin was the Naperville Fire Department’s Technical Rescue Team Leader, and was involved with the MABAS Division 16 special operations teams. He has been a fire and rescue instructor for the SKCTA, Spec Rescue and Rescue 3 International, most recently in the discipline of swiftwater rescue. He has served on committees for the OSFM, MABAS and with the AFFI.
Kevin earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Southern Illinois University-Carbondale in Fire Science Management.
Al Vrshek serves as the MABAS IL. Operations Branch Chief for Northeast Illinois. Al performs annual Staff Assistance Visits (SAV) with his divisions in Northeastern Illinois. Al Vrshek has 35 years of fire service experience. He began his career as a volunteer firefighter in Dixmoor, a southern suburb of Chicago, in 1974, Al became a certified paramedic with Dixmoor. He began his full time career as a firefighter/paramedic with Elk Grove Village in 1977, where he progressed through the ranks and retired after 32 years as Deputy Chief of Operations. Al was involved with the Division I dive team, where he served as president for several years.
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Chief Darin Beckman serves as the MABAS-IL. Operations Branch Chief – Central/West Region. Chief Beckman is currently responsible for 15 counties which comprise 9 MABAS-Illinois Divisions. Included within his geographical region are 2 MABAS-IL statewide Technical Rescue Teams (TRT), 4 MABAS-IL statewide Hazardous Materials Teams, and 1 MABAS-IL statewide Water Rescue and Recovery Team. Chief Beckman is responsible for performing annual Staff Assistance Visits (SAV) with each division in his region. Additional duties and responsibilities include acting as the primary contact and resource for MABAS-IL divisions within the central/west region. Chief Beckman also holds the responsibility of acting as the primary MABAS-IL liaison to the Illinois State Emergency Operations Center (SEOC) and is the primary MABAS-IL representative to any prospective new central/west region divisions.
Chief David Fleege serves as the MABAS-ILLINOIS Operations Branch Chief, North Central Region.
Ed has been the Logistics Warehouse Manager for MABAS since 2011. He is responsible for receiving and storing goods and general maintenance to the building and equipment. Prior to working for MABAS, he owned his own company – ECG, Inc., specializing in voice/data and fiber installations. Ed likes to golf, fish, and travel in his free time.
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Jeanie Mercier came to MABAS-IL in October, 2007 as an Administrative Assistant and later transitioned into Administration Assistant, Special Projects. Her responsibilities are primarily the annual MABAS-IL Conference with over 500 attendees, Executive Board meetings, MABAS-IL Committees, maintenance of MABAS-IL contracts, and other major projects as needed.
Chief Jim Klinefelter serves as the MABAS-IL Operations Branch Chief – Northwest Region. He is currently responsible for 9 counties which comprise 9 MABAS-IL Divisions. Included within his geographic region are 3 MABAS-IL statewide Technical Rescue Teams (TRT) and 2 MABAS-IL statewide Hazardous Materials (HAZMAT) Teams. Chief Klinefelter is responsible for performing annual Staff Assistance Visits (SAV) with each Northwest region division. His additional duties and responsibilities include:
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Linda Cruz has been with MABAS since March 2014 as a part time Administrative Specialist and Receptionist. Her duties include covering the front desk, greeting visitors, processing MABAS dues payments, sorting incoming mail, and assisting with day-to-day clerical and finance tasks.
In her spare time she enjoys spending time with her family and friends. She is a dedicated volunteer and enjoys helping others.
Mr. Michael A. Graves is the Exercise and Training Director and NIMS Compliance Officer for MABAS-IL. His primary responsibilities include validation and certification activities for MABAS deployable teams and assets. Since his engagement with MABAS he has been involved in over 100 exercises with various MABAS teams, local response, State response, Regional response, and National response.
Mr. Graves serves as an instructor for the Illinois Terrorism Task Force (ITTF) teaching all National Incident Management System (NIMS) courses and teaches primarily the ICS 300 and ICS 400 courses. Mr. Graves serves as a MABAS Liaison at the State Incident Response Center in the Illinois Emergency Management Agency. He is a member of the Illinois Terrorism Task Force Training Committee and the co-chair of the Illinois Terrorism Task Force Exercise Sub-Committee.
Mr. Graves holds a bachelor’s degree in Management from the University of Illinois – Springfield, a Masters in Business Administration, with a concentration in e-commerce, from Touro University, and a Master of Divinity, with a concentration in education, from Lincoln Christian College and Seminary. He is also a FEMA certified Master Exercise Practitioner and a FEMA certified Continuity Practitioner.
Mr. Graves is a retired Army Command Sergeant Major. Mr. Graves began his military career in the active duty Air Force in 1976. Subsequently, he entered the Virginia National Guard in 1979 and in 1987 he transferred to the Illinois National Guard, and he retired in 2005 with over 24 years of active service.
Since his retirement from the Army in 2005, Mr. Graves has been employed by various companies as a contractor. His initial assignment was overseeing the transformation of the Illinois National Guard. His subsequent assignment was as the Strategic Planner and acting Planning Officer for the Illinois National Guard.
Currently Mr. Graves also works as a contractor for the National Guard Bureau as the FEMA Region V Defense Readiness Anaylist. In this position he assisted the six states within FEMA Region V during the implementation of the Defense Readiness Reporting System, and supervises the rest of his team in the other 9 FEMA regions. He has worked in organizational development and strategic planning for the past twenty-five years. He has been involved in Management by Objectives, Total Quality Management, Balanced Scorecard, Baldrige Quality Awards, Lean Six Sigma, and the Strategic Management System. For the past fifteen years he has been involved in these programs at the state level in the Illinois National Guard.
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Raymond Kay is a 30 year veteran of the fire service beginning as a Paid on Call member at the Roberts Park Fire Protection District and recently retiring from the Orland Fire Protection District (OFPD). During his time at the OFPD, Ray served in all ranks and in all areas of service including Chief of the department. Ray holds a B.A. degree in Fire Science Management from Southern Illinois University, is recognized as a Chief Fire Officer by the Illinois State Fire Marshal and has completed his Master’s degree in Homeland Security, graduating from the United States Naval Postgraduate School – an extension of the Naval Academy. Ray has been a fire service Intelligence Liaison Officer (ILO) for Division 19 since the program’s inception and has been the Co-Chairman of the ILO Steering Committee.
Ray served on the Hazardous Materials Steering Committee from the inception of the committee until 2014. He has also worked with MABAS as an Ambassador from the inception of the program until 2014 supporting several large scale regional events.
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