2020-2021 NYSAFC Officers Installed

Chief Lee Shurtleff of the Groton Fire Department in Tompkins County was installed as president of the New York State Association of Fire Chiefs on June 13, 2020. He will serve a one-year term leading the statewide not-for-profit organization, which represents more than 10,000 career and volunteer fire chiefs, officers, and emergency services personnel.

Due to the cancellation of the 114th Annual Conference & FIRE 2020 Expo, the installation took place via video conference with Past President John Sroka swearing in the 2020-2021 slate of officers, including 1st Vice President Robert Kloepfer Jr. (Floral Park Fire Department); 2nd Vice President James Comstock (Henrietta Fire District); Directors (Volunteer) Scott Ewing (Plattsburgh District #3 Fire Department), William Owen III (Stittville Fire Department), and Michael Volpe (Busti Fire Department); Director (Career) Stefano Napolitano (Batavia Fire Department); and Director (EMS) George June (Catskill Ambulance Service). Kloepfer and Comstock will serve one-year terms in these positions. Ewing, Owen, Volpe, Napolitano, and June will serve three-year terms.

President Lee Shurtleff has been a member of the Citizens Hook & Ladder Co. #3 of the Groton Fire Department since 1985, serving as department chief from 1991-1998. He served as the director of the Tompkins County Department of Emergency Response from 2002-2019, where he directed programs for fire, EMS, emergency management, 911 and public safety communications. Previously, he was a full-time deputy coordinator and served for nine years as commissioner of elections for Tompkins County. Shurtleff was a member of the New York State Emergency Services Council, New York State Emergency Services Loan Fund Board, and New York State 911 Board throughout their existence. He graduated from the State University of New York College at Cortland with a bachelor of arts degree in political science. Shurtleff is also a graduate of Simmons Institute of Funeral Service. A licensed funeral director, he is actively involved with his family’s funeral and properties businesses. He has served as an officer or director for many civic, political, educational, and health related non-profit boards. A life member of NYSAFC who joined the association in 1987, Shurtleff served for many years as a regional representative and with the EMS Committee. He was chairman of the Government Affairs Committee for two years and had been vice chair for both the State and Federal Sub-Committees before joining the board of directors in 2013.

George June joined the board of directors this year and will serve as the new EMS director. June has served as ambulance administrator – chief of EMS for the Town of Catskill Ambulance in Greene County since October 2012. He has decades of experience with fire and emergency medical services agencies throughout the greater Capital District. June began his EMS career in 1988 with Richards Ambulance Service, which later became Hudson Valley Ambulance, and served as the operations supervisor – Greene County Division from 1993-1996. He then served with the Clifton Park & Halfmoon Emergency Corps as operations supervisor from 1996-2006 and as chief of operations from 2006-2011. June also served as a paramedic with the Valatie Rescue Squad from 2011-2015 and Greene County Emergency Medical Services from 2011-2019. Additionally, he served as a firefighter with the Catskill Fire Department from 1985-1999 and Ravena Fire Department from 1999-2004, and has been a firefighter with the Coeymans Fire Department since 2004. June has been a New York state fire instructor for Greene County since 1993 and is currently a commissioner with the Coeymans Fire District. He is also the Region 1 director for the Association of Fire Districts of the State of New York, a New York state certified EMT-paramedic, a member of the REMO QI Committee, a member of the Greene County EMS Council, and a past chairman of the Saratoga County EMS Administrators Group. June earned a bachelor of arts degree from the College of Saint Rose and master’s degree in public administration from Marist College. He has been a member of NYSAFC since 1995 and served on the association’s EMS Committee.

Learn more about the NYSAFC board of directors here.