Audience, the Message, the Speaker

Steven T. Edwardsis the director of the Maryland Fire and Rescue Institute of the University of Maryland. The Maryland Fire and Rescue Institute is the state's comprehensive training agency for emergency services, training more than 34,000 students each year. He is a former fire chief of the Prince George's County Fire Department in Maryland, where he served for 25 years in a variety of positions from high school cadet to fire chief. Edwards also serves as chair of the board of directors of the Safety Equipment Institute, chair of the Congressional Fire Service Institute National Advisory Committee, as well as numerous local- and state-level appointments. In 1997, he was elected as…  More the president of the North American Fire Training Directors. Edwards is a graduate of the University of Maryland University College (UMUC) with a bachelor's degree in fire service management and a master's degree in general administration. Both degrees were achieved with summa cum laude honors. He has attended the Harvard University John F Kennedy School of Government "Program for Senior Executives in State and Local Government" and the National Fire Academy, and has presented at national conferences and seminars. Edwards is currently a member of the adjunct faculty at UMUC, teaching its course in fire service personnel management. During his career of more than 35 years in fire service, Edwards received numerous awards and honors, including the Prince George's County Fire Department "Gold Star of Valor" in 1979 for the rescue of two firefighters at a major fire and explosion. During his tenure as fire chief, the department received the IAFC Award for Excellence as well as twenty-eight National Association of Counties Awards for Excellence. While continuing his fire service career at the University of Maryland, the Maryland Fire and Rescue Institute was selected as the Congressional Fire Service Institute National Fire Service Organization of the Year for 1999. In addition, Edwards received the University of Maryland President's Distinguished Service Award in 2003 for exceptional performance, leadership, and service.John (Jack) Hasling earned the title of Professor Emeritus after teaching for 27 years at Foothill College in Los Altos Hills, California. He received his MA in 1963 from Sacramento State University, where he later taught and coached the debate team. He came to Foothill College in 1966 to teach public speaking and serve as faculty advisor for the college radio station. In the years following, he contributed to the speech curriculum by writing and developing courses in group discussion, interpersonal communication, and broadcast journalism. Teaching was his second career, his first being broadcasting. From 1952 to 1961 he worked as an announcer and engineer for several radio stations in northern California. In 1980 he published a book with McGraw-Hill entitled Fundamentals of Radio Broadcasting.During his years at Foothill College, Jack was actively involved in faculty affairs at the state and local levels. He served as chair of the Improvement of Instruction committee and later as president of the Academic Senate. He is a former member of the Commission on Instruction for the California Association of Community Colleges and is a charter member of the Bay Area Speech Teachers Association. He has served as parliamentarian at conventions of the California State Academic Senate.Since his retirement Jack has extended his interest in writing to include adult fiction and children’s literature. He has published two novels, both concerning social issues in recent history, and two children’s books. He reads his works to third- and fourth- grade classes and speaks to adult groups on the importance of reading aloud to children.  Less