F.O.O.L.S. International Thu, 05 Mar 2026 16:17:28 -0500 https://www.foolsinternational.com en-us © 2026 F.O.O.L.S. International yes ab1f71d7-ae4b-5aef-ac74-b94eb30439f0 F.O.O.L.S. International episodic false The Fraternal Order of Leatherheads Society (F.O.O.L.S.) is an organization dedicated to the camaraderie and brother/sisterhood forged between firefighters. The F.O.O.L.S. provide realistic fire training for real firefighters and feel it is their duty to keep their brother and sisters in the fire service as safe as possible on the fireground. The F.O.O.L.S. are about Duty-Honor-Tradition.

]]> Buzzsprout (https://www.buzzsprout.com) fools, firefighter, duty, honor, tradition, training, brotherhood F.O.O.L.S. International https://storage.buzzsprout.com/g470q2e4z54an14x5p49ltofcq8g?.jpg F.O.O.L.S. International https://www.foolsinternational.com Chris Bednarek 2025 Convention Wrap-up interview with Palm Beach County FOOLS 2025 Convention Wrap-up interview with Palm Beach County FOOLS Members of the FOOLS International E-Board interview Mike Allison & Lindsay Mullen of the Palm Beach County FOOLS on the challenges, success and highlights of hosting the 2025 FOOLS International Convention.

]]> Members of the FOOLS International E-Board interview Mike Allison & Lindsay Mullen of the Palm Beach County FOOLS on the challenges, success and highlights of hosting the 2025 FOOLS International Convention.

]]> F.O.O.L.S. International Buzzsprout-17367585 Fri, 20 Jun 2025 05:00:00 -0500 2070 2025 5 full false Mississippi FOOLS Interview Mississippi FOOLS Interview The FOOLS E-Board talks with members of the Mississippi FOOLS who are attending the convention for the first time this year in West Palm Beach, FL.

]]> The FOOLS E-Board talks with members of the Mississippi FOOLS who are attending the convention for the first time this year in West Palm Beach, FL.

]]> F.O.O.L.S. International Buzzsprout-17321601 Thu, 12 Jun 2025 06:00:00 -0500 1414 2025 4 full false 2025 FDIC Recap 2025 FDIC Recap Join International President Ben Fleagle, Vice President Chris Bednarek, PIT Kevin Fields, and Indy Metro F.O.O.L.S. President Brett Ramer as they discuss FDIC 2025 and the Indy Metro Brotherhood Bash.

We want to thank everyone who came together to make the event not only possible, but a great success.  Specifically, we'd like to thank Fire Engineering, FDIC, The District Tap, 1-800-BOARDUP & Taylor's Tins.

]]> Join International President Ben Fleagle, Vice President Chris Bednarek, PIT Kevin Fields, and Indy Metro F.O.O.L.S. President Brett Ramer as they discuss FDIC 2025 and the Indy Metro Brotherhood Bash.

We want to thank everyone who came together to make the event not only possible, but a great success.  Specifically, we'd like to thank Fire Engineering, FDIC, The District Tap, 1-800-BOARDUP & Taylor's Tins.

]]> F.O.O.L.S. International Buzzsprout-17003524 Sat, 19 Apr 2025 06:00:00 -0500 1541 2025 3 full false 2025 Fire Wife Life Couple's Retreat 2025 Fire Wife Life Couple's Retreat Chris talks with Tracy and Kathy of Fire Wife Life from the 2nd Annual Couples Retreat at the Lake St. Louis Community Association in beautiful Lake St. Louis, MO about the history of the Fire Wife Life organization and this weekend's couples event.

Thanks to Corley & Amanda Moore of Firehouse Vigilance for presenting their Broken Tools workshop and Michael Long, founder of Break the Stigma, Inc. for sharing his story. 

Special thanks to all the sponsors who helped make this event possible, including Safe Fleet, All 4 Heros, Key Hose, First Access Behavioral Health, Creve Coeur Fire District & The Professional Firefighters of Eastern Missouri - IAFF Local 2665.

]]> Chris talks with Tracy and Kathy of Fire Wife Life from the 2nd Annual Couples Retreat at the Lake St. Louis Community Association in beautiful Lake St. Louis, MO about the history of the Fire Wife Life organization and this weekend's couples event.

Thanks to Corley & Amanda Moore of Firehouse Vigilance for presenting their Broken Tools workshop and Michael Long, founder of Break the Stigma, Inc. for sharing his story. 

Special thanks to all the sponsors who helped make this event possible, including Safe Fleet, All 4 Heros, Key Hose, First Access Behavioral Health, Creve Coeur Fire District & The Professional Firefighters of Eastern Missouri - IAFF Local 2665.

]]> F.O.O.L.S. International Buzzsprout-16838399 Sat, 22 Mar 2025 06:00:00 -0500 2086 2025 2 full false 11th Annual Cedar Valley F.O.O.L.S. Brotherhood Bourbon Bottling 11th Annual Cedar Valley F.O.O.L.S. Brotherhood Bourbon Bottling Vice President Chris Bednarek attends and visits with Brent Smeins (President) and Jim Cook (Treasurer) of the Cedar Valley F.O.O.L.S. during their 11th Annual Brotherhood Bourbon bottling event.

Thanks to Ryan Burchett (owner & operator) of Mississippi River Distilling and Matt Van Ee (manager) of Cedar Falls HyVee Wine & Spirits for spending the afternoon with us.

Click here to find more information on the St. Florian Burn Foundation.

If you're interested in attending the 12th Annual bottling event, please message the Cedar Valley F.O.O.L.S. directly through their FaceBook page.

Head over to the F.O.O.L.S. International 2025 Convention web page for registration and hotel details.

]]> Vice President Chris Bednarek attends and visits with Brent Smeins (President) and Jim Cook (Treasurer) of the Cedar Valley F.O.O.L.S. during their 11th Annual Brotherhood Bourbon bottling event.

Thanks to Ryan Burchett (owner & operator) of Mississippi River Distilling and Matt Van Ee (manager) of Cedar Falls HyVee Wine & Spirits for spending the afternoon with us.

Click here to find more information on the St. Florian Burn Foundation.

If you're interested in attending the 12th Annual bottling event, please message the Cedar Valley F.O.O.L.S. directly through their FaceBook page.

Head over to the F.O.O.L.S. International 2025 Convention web page for registration and hotel details.

]]> F.O.O.L.S. International Buzzsprout-16630868 Sun, 16 Feb 2025 09:00:00 -0600 1561 2025 1 full false 2024 Convention Update with Jeff Frost 2024 Convention Update with Jeff Frost Join International Vice President Chris Bednarek and WestCentral Rep/Bon Temps President for a discussion on the plans for this year's convention in Baton Rouge, LA.

]]> Join International Vice President Chris Bednarek and WestCentral Rep/Bon Temps President for a discussion on the plans for this year's convention in Baton Rouge, LA.

]]> F.O.O.L.S. International Buzzsprout-14527578 Mon, 19 Feb 2024 09:00:00 -0600 1217 full false Interview with VP Bob Faas Interview with VP Bob Faas F.O.O.L.S. International Vice President Bob Faas talks about our relationship with Fire Engineering and how we may be moving forward with the Indy Metro Brotherhood Bash at FDIC in 2024.  Please listen in and reach out to your regional representative with your thoughts.  Bob also drops a bomb at the end, but I won't spoil the suprise here.

#foolsinternational #fdic2024

]]> F.O.O.L.S. International Vice President Bob Faas talks about our relationship with Fire Engineering and how we may be moving forward with the Indy Metro Brotherhood Bash at FDIC in 2024.  Please listen in and reach out to your regional representative with your thoughts.  Bob also drops a bomb at the end, but I won't spoil the suprise here.

#foolsinternational #fdic2024

]]> F.O.O.L.S. International Buzzsprout-14079474 Sun, 03 Dec 2023 12:00:00 -0600 573 full false 2023 Convention Update from Minnesota 2023 Convention Update from Minnesota Join International President Ben Fleagle, PIT Chris Bednarek, Northland President Vance Schwartz, and Becki White for an  update from the convention at the Hennepin Technical College in Eden Prairie, MN.
#foolsconvention2023

]]> Join International President Ben Fleagle, PIT Chris Bednarek, Northland President Vance Schwartz, and Becki White for an  update from the convention at the Hennepin Technical College in Eden Prairie, MN.
#foolsconvention2023

]]> F.O.O.L.S. International Buzzsprout-13429704 Fri, 18 Aug 2023 12:00:00 -0500 917 full false 2023 Convention Update Interview with Becki White 2023 Convention Update Interview with Becki White Thanks to Becki White from Northland F.O.O.L.S. for meeting with us to provide some great convention information.  Registration is open!

August 17-20 in Minneapolis, MN
Register at either northlandfools.com or foolsinternational.com
$250 flat registration fee

If your chapter is planning to bring some swag to sell, please contact president@northlandfools.com or vp@northlandfools.com to arrange for your space.

If you'd like to get involved with the podcast as either a guest host or just a guest to share your thoughts, have a conversation, or just let us know what your chapter is up to, contact Chris at pit@foolsinternational.com

Thanks for listening!

]]> Thanks to Becki White from Northland F.O.O.L.S. for meeting with us to provide some great convention information.  Registration is open!

August 17-20 in Minneapolis, MN
Register at either northlandfools.com or foolsinternational.com
$250 flat registration fee

If your chapter is planning to bring some swag to sell, please contact president@northlandfools.com or vp@northlandfools.com to arrange for your space.

If you'd like to get involved with the podcast as either a guest host or just a guest to share your thoughts, have a conversation, or just let us know what your chapter is up to, contact Chris at pit@foolsinternational.com

Thanks for listening!

]]> F.O.O.L.S. International Buzzsprout-13187697 Sun, 09 Jul 2023 08:00:00 -0500 915 full false 2022 Convention Updates 2022 Convention Updates Join Chris as he talks with Brew City F.O.O.L.S. President Justin McMenamin and Vice President Patrick Gaines about what's in store for the 2022 Convention in Milwaukee, September 26-30, 2022.

Convention information and registration can be found here.

You're always welcome to check out F.O.O.L.S. International here.

Thank you to our Podcast sponsor, 1-800-BOARDUP.

]]> Join Chris as he talks with Brew City F.O.O.L.S. President Justin McMenamin and Vice President Patrick Gaines about what's in store for the 2022 Convention in Milwaukee, September 26-30, 2022.

Convention information and registration can be found here.

You're always welcome to check out F.O.O.L.S. International here.

Thank you to our Podcast sponsor, 1-800-BOARDUP.

]]> Brew City F.O.O.L.S. Buzzsprout-10891744 Sat, 02 Jul 2022 17:00:00 -0500 2281 convention, fools, foolsinternational 3 1 full false American Income Life (AIL) Interview - March 2021 American Income Life (AIL) Interview - March 2021 Members of the FOOLS E-board discuss our accidental death and dismemberment (AD&D) benefits with Dawn Trudden from AIL. How it can be a benefit for our members.

]]> Members of the FOOLS E-board discuss our accidental death and dismemberment (AD&D) benefits with Dawn Trudden from AIL. How it can be a benefit for our members.

]]> F.O.O.L.S. International Buzzsprout-8071134 Thu, 04 Mar 2021 08:00:00 -0600 823 2 1 full false President's Message - October 2020 President's Message - October 2020 President Ben Fleagle remembers Marc Weiss and talks about setting an example as an organization with the COVID crisis and how we need to take an active role to lead through it.

]]> President Ben Fleagle remembers Marc Weiss and talks about setting an example as an organization with the COVID crisis and how we need to take an active role to lead through it.

]]> F.O.O.L.S. International Buzzsprout-5883118 Tue, 13 Oct 2020 18:00:00 -0500 915 1 5 full false President's Message - July 2020 President's Message - July 2020 President Ben Fleagle talking about the status of the 2020 FOOLS Convention and other COVID related stuff.

]]> President Ben Fleagle talking about the status of the 2020 FOOLS Convention and other COVID related stuff.

]]> F.O.O.L.S. International Buzzsprout-4706159 Fri, 24 Jul 2020 20:00:00 -0500 1469 1 4 full false E-board Message - April 2020 E-board Message - April 2020 President Ben Fleagle, Vice President Bob Faas, Founder John "Bart" Simpson, and Education/Training Chair Robbie Fisher share some information with the membership.

]]> President Ben Fleagle, Vice President Bob Faas, Founder John "Bart" Simpson, and Education/Training Chair Robbie Fisher share some information with the membership.

]]> F.O.O.L.S. International Buzzsprout-3319735 Fri, 10 Apr 2020 20:00:00 -0500 1504 1 3 full false President's Message - 3/17/20 President's Message - 3/17/20 President's message from FOOLS International President Ben Fleagle.

]]> President's message from FOOLS International President Ben Fleagle.

]]> F.O.O.L.S. International Buzzsprout-3031678 Tue, 17 Mar 2020 11:00:00 -0500 475 1 2 full false FOOLS Podcast Introduction - President Ben Fleagle FOOLS Podcast Introduction - President Ben Fleagle The FOOLS have stepped out on their own into the podcast community. This is our very first show on our own. President Ben Fleagle is introducing this new communication forum to our membership. He is also introducing the sponsor for this new platform, 1-800-BoardUp.

]]> The FOOLS have stepped out on their own into the podcast community. This is our very first show on our own. President Ben Fleagle is introducing this new communication forum to our membership. He is also introducing the sponsor for this new platform, 1-800-BoardUp.

]]> Robbie Buzzsprout-2906785 Tue, 03 Mar 2020 13:00:00 -0600 881 1 1 full false