On Saturday evening, April 5th, the Cutchogue Fire District, in conjunction with the United Fire Co. No. 1 of the Cutchogue Fire Department and the Cutchogue Fire Department Ladies Auxiliary held their annual installation of officers ceremony and awards dinner at Eastwind Caterers in Wading River.

The dinner was attended by Fire Department and Ladies Auxiliary members as well as local dignitaries and invited guests.

The purpose of the evening was to officially swear in the newly re-elected Chief and Assistant Fire Chiefs, as well as honor our Volunteers for their service and dedication to the Cutchogue Fire Department and the community we serve. Several special awards were presented over the course of the evening.

Chief Antone Berkoski was sworn into office as Chief of Department, along with his assistants, First Assistant William Brewer, and Second Assistant Chief Lawrence Behr by the Chairman of the Board of Fire Commissioners Robert Fisher.

Each year CFD honors and recognizes special members that has reached significant milestones in their firefighting career. These men are honored for their continued dedication and active service to the community that has each spanned over half a century.

Ex-Chief Everett Glover was honored for celebrating his 50th year of active service.

Following a standing ovation, he was presented a plaque by Chief Berkoski as well as several proclamations presented on behalf of our local dignitaries. These items only serve as a small token of appreciation and thanks for his lifetime of service to the CFD.

In addition to the above longevity awards several special awards were presented to several members for service to the Department over the past year. The CFD is pleased to honor the following members:

2013 Firefighter of the Year – Lt. Garrett Lake

2013 EMS Provider of the Year – James Rocco

2013 Probationary Member of the Year – Katariznya Michalak

Chiefs Awards:

Ken Burns, Patrick Kaelin, Oreanna Kaelin, Joe Hinton

Two other special awards were also presented.

Chairman Fisher took a moment to honor past commissioner Arthur W. Brewer for his 10 years of dedicated service to the Board of Fire Commissioners. A special plaque was presented to him on behalf of the the Commissioners of the Cutchogue Fire District in recognition of his 2 elected terms.

Captain Bill Burns also presented a special award to Ex-Chief and Commissioner Andrew McCaffery by the members of the Panthers Drill Team in recognition for his dedication to the team throughout the years.

In what has become a tradition, the CFD band made a special appearance at the dinner, and played to honor the Chief. As a tribute, Band leader Tom Roslak passed off the baton to Chief Berkoski to lead the band during the performance.

The Commissioners of the Cutchogue Fire District, the Chiefs, Officer and Members of the Cutchogue Fire Department United Fire Co. No. 1, and the Cutchogue Fire Department Ladies Auxiliary would like to extend our congratulations and thanks to all of the night's honorees and award winners.

Thank you to our fellow brothers and sisters of the Mattituck Fire Department who allowed our members to attend and enjoy this special evening. MFD provided an engine and ambulance crew to handle any calls in our District for the evening.

Photos courtesy of Ex-Chief Matt Martin

More pictures will be added as they become available.