My passion is writing, and I wrote a children’s book about firefighters. The book is entitled Six Brave Firefighters and Captain McGurk and it follows a team of firefighters through their day. The story promotes diversity, teamwork, friendship, and trust, among other values and the team features an African American Captain, a female, an Asian American, and a Hispanic American. The story is written completely in verse and it is twenty-two stanzas in length.

I was fortunate to find a talented young artist named Cameron Walters to do the illustrations for the story. Cameron and I worked together for over a year, trying our best to create the perfect illustration for each stanza of the story. The finished product was absolutely phenomenal! Cameron captured the essence of the story and his colorful, vibrant illustrations bring the story to life.

The story features the different activities of the firehouse, including the entire crew responding to a fire; however, we captured the fire scenes in such a way that they are not frightening for small children.

I wrote this story as a testament to ordinary folks who are called upon to do extraordinary things with the hopes that it may inspire a generation of boys and girls to become firefighters. Cities and towns everywhere need firefighters, and many in my generation were inspired by books about them.

My ultimate goal is to publish 1000 copies of this book and give every copy away-absolutely FREE of charge! I will not ask for nor accept one penny in royalties and this book will be labeled NOT FOR RETAIL SALE. Every family, every school library, every teacher, every pediatrician or dentists’ office, every fire department, every public library, or whomever else gets a FREE copy just for the asking.

Unfortunately, I cannot afford to pay for the production costs (printing, binding, etc.) out-of-pocket. I am looking for organizational and individual sponsors to make this project a reality.

I believe in 100% honesty and transparency. This book is a labor of love and a gift to the community and nothing more. As a teacher myself, I am a strong advocate for reading at an early age and the benefits it creates as the child learns and grows. To this I pledge my honor.

Another goal with this project is to gratefully acknowledge all of those who made it possible. I have come up with sponsorship levels to fit most any budget, and all sponsors will be listed in the back of the book, unless they request anonymity. The sponsorship levels and ad spaces are as follows:

Fire Chief Level: $1000 and up plus a full-page ad

Deputy Chief Level: $500-$999 plus a ½ page ad

Captain Level: $400-$499 plus a ½ page ad

Lieutenant Level: $300-$399 plus a ¼ page ad

Engineer Level: $200-$299 plus a ¼ page ad

Firefighter Level: $100-$199 plus name listed on the Firefighter Level Donor’s page

Rookie Level: $50-$99 plus name listed on the Rookie Level Donor’s page

Dalmatian Level: $10-$49 plus listing on the Dalmatian Level Donor’s page