I have known T. John Cunningham since he was a young member of the Sound Beach Volunteer Fire Department. As the Assistant Chief of the Greenwich Fire Department, I was fortunate to witness his professional growth in the Fire Service as he matured and rose thru the officer ranks. His dedication to those he protected was unmatched. His constant drive to always improve the rescue skills of the fire fighters in the department was impressive. His mastery, and sharing, of all of the his Technical Rescue skills helped create a first class Technical Rescue team that responded town wide. As an Instructor, he demonstrated a unique ability to make difficult concepts easily understood and remembered. When I was informed that he was being considered for Chief of Elk River, I was both sad that we were losing his talents, and really happy for him and the residents of Elk River. It is my opinion that It would be difficult to find a better qualified, or more dedicated, leader for Minnesota State Fire Chiefs Association than T. John Cunningham. I have worked with Chief Cunningham in many capacities including on active incidents, in an emergency operations center as well as several exercises and trainings. No matter the capacity, Chief Cunningham has always been professional, knowledgeable, committed and dependable. He has demonstrated great qualities of leadership and is always willing to learn and teach. I would highly recommend John Cunningham to lead the Minnesota State Fire Chiefs Association. I have been employed with the Elk River Police Department for 24 years. Chief Cunningham is the third Fire Chief I have worked with. Like his two predecessors, Chief Cunningham is professional, knowledgeable and committed to his department. Chief Cunningham fosters relationships not only with other Fire Departments, but with all of the local, county and State Law Enforcement agencies that fall within his fire district. I have personally worked many scenes with Chief Cunningham, and he is always willing to assist the Police Department in any way he can. I would not hesitate to recommend Chief Cunningham for the position of President of the MSFCA. He will bring a new level of professionalism, service and excellence to the Fire Service! I have had the pleasure of working with John in his role as a member of the Statewide Emergency Communications Board (SECB) representing the Minnesota Fire Chiefs in Greater Minnesota. John is a natural leader. His enthusiasm rubs off on others and he is always a positive force. If there is a challenge, John will be part of the group that sits down to brainstorm and find a solution. John just does the right thing. Maybe not always the easy thing but the right thing for the right reasons. John was instrumental in assisting the SECB and our division with trialing the new Band 14 dedicated to wireless broadband for public safety in Elk River. This took a great deal of his personal time and attention but he did so willingly because he is interested in the future of emergency communications and how to make it easier for his fellow responders to focus on the emergency yet have multiple resources available to effective response. I wholeheartedly support John’s candidacy! John Cunningham is an experienced and well respected fire chief and emergency management professional. He has vast knowledge in both the technical and management aspects of his profession. His dedication, high ethical standards, and expertise make him a strong, confident, and effective leader. I find it difficult to expand on the numerous testimonials already speaking to Johns many positive attributes. End of the day you want people like John to be part of your team. All organizations, to which John served over his career, should feel blessed to have received the time they did. As the Prosecutor for the City of Elk River, I have had the pleasure of working alongside Chief Cunningham since 2012. In addition to the normal duties and obligations one would expect from the Fire Chief, Chief Cunningham seemed to go above and beyond as he was also responsible for Code enforcement activities for the City, including building inspections and rental inspections. Naturally, these responsibilities required great knowledge of the Building Code and the Elk River City Code, which Chief Cunningham always seemed to have a firm grasp on. While I wasn’t surprised by his vast knowledge of the Fire Code, I was impressed with his extensive comprehension of building codes and inspections, rental inspections and general Code enforcement practices and procedures. Perhaps even more impressive than his knowledge was the manner in which he addressed difficult Code related issues and uncooperative residents. Whether it was the modification of a current Ordinance or the handling of an upset resident, I always found Chief Cunningham to be calm, thoughtful and very mindful of any potential unintended consequences of actions before they were implemented. I believe his knowledge, demeanor and respectfulness towards others, while handling difficult situations, is what has earned Chief Cunningham the respect of City staff and the residents he serves. Recommending an individual for a specific position is not something I take lightly, as I believe, in some respects, this reflects upon my credibility as well. With this in mind, I have no hesitation in recommending Chief Cunningham for consideration as the President of the Minnesota State Fire Chiefs’ Association. I believe that through his knowledge, dedication and compassion, he has portrayed the attributes necessary for such a respected position and would be a fine role model to all firefighters. During 2015 I was part of an LTE Public Safety Broadband Trail Project involving public and private partners. This trial project took place in the City of Elk River. Chief Cunningham provided excellent leadership and passion for this cutting edge technology. Subsequent to this project Chief Cunningham has provided educational outreach at conferences and at other training sessions regarding the national Public Safety Broadband Network, commonly know as FirstNet. Chief Cunningham’s passion for innovation and technology advancement are exceptional. John Cunningham would be an excellent President of the Minnesota State Fire Chiefs Association. I met Chief T. John Cunningham when he first made is journey to the State of Minnesota as a Fire Chief. He was ambitious to begin his new role coming from an active agency on the East Coast. Since day one, John began to build relationships and assess what was best for the organization he was now to lead. His direction was to “take it to the next level”. That is not always an easy path to take as it requires courage, reflection, understanding, empathy and personal sacrifices. Turning the wheel on a large ship that is set in GPS mode can come with personal burden and the need to compromise. I had the honor of sitting on his fire departments strategic planning process to set the new course. Throughout the process he was able to engage a number of groups from firefighters, fire officers, city council members, and other agencies to define what the future could look like. He then worked with the planning committee to define the organizations strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Over the course of a year, and still today, he has worked hard to guide a new path for the Elk River Fire Department. I have personally seen the organization move into one of the most respected agencies in the area. He has worked to bring pride and honor back into the organization and focuses on cutting edge technology and training to better his staff and city as a whole. I have also served with John as we travel across the state and country to honor our fallen firefighters. He is actively involved in the Fallen Firefighter Memorial program though the Fire Service Foundation and walks the talk. John continues to educate himself earning a Master Degree and certifications others don’t have. He stays active in state and national organizations so he is informed on the future of the fire service and works proactively to put things in place prior to them occurring. Above all, John is a very nice person who cares about others feelings and is willing to listen. His ability to work well with others is one of his greatest assets. If elected as the President of the MN Fire Chiefs Association, John would likely use some of the same tools he has in the past to successfully bring our organization to the next level while maintaining positive relationships and the focusing on our member interests. I fully support this candidacy and proud of who he has become. John Cunningham is a great Fire Chief for the City of Elk River. He takes his job very seriously. It is not an eight-hour thing for him, rather a way of life. I was part of a task force put together by John that examined how things were done in the Fire Department. It created some hard feelings among the fire fighters but it was the right thing to do and the end product has helped improve the overall operation of the department. It was a five year vision and so far we are on course to meet that vision. John attacks problems head on, looking for solutions. He is very prompt with his response to citizens who have concerns about certain issues. He is friendly, dedicated and professional. He is always looking for ways to make things better. He has gone out of his way to get involved in state and national fire related activities. He definitely has a passion for what he does. We are very fortunate to have him working for our city.