Her Voice September/October
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I don t know that they treat me any differently than anyone else and I wouldn t expect them to treat me any differently... We re like a family. That s the most important thing. ~ Jodi Johnson Because my eyes are important, my family goes to Vision Care. JOHNSON continued from page 7 offering the firefighter class, so I decided to take the course to get more experience. I started out just to expand my horizons a little bit and gain experience for EMS, since we work closely together on accidents. Johnson said she didn t give much thought to becoming the first female firefighter to ever serve in Vermillion. I was just another person doing the job, she said. I was glad they gave me an opportunity to do it. It was fun. Her peers in the fire department didn t make a big deal out of it either, according to Johnson. For the most part, I was accepted right away, she said. With my 5-foot, 2-inch stature, I m sure there was some doubt about my abilities, but just like any rookie, you have to prove yourself. Hopefully, I did that. After 3 1/2 years on the Vermillion Fire Department, Johnson moved to Yankton. At about that time, Yankton s first female firefighter, Susan Littlefield, was moving to Columbus, Neb. That put Johnson in the position of being the only female firefighter in the department for a second time. And again, that fact didn t prove to be significant. I don t know that they treat me any differently than anyone else and I wouldn t expect them to treat me any differently, she said. We have a big group that works well together. We re like a family. That s the most important thing. Neither has being a woman in the department put any expectations on her to serve in what may have been considered traditionally female roles, Johnson continued. For example, she doesn t serve as the department s cook. It s a task taken on by the whole department. What I bring as a person not necessarily because I m a woman is a different perspective. I don t know if I could pinpoint what that is, Johnson said. I would say I have a strong care-giver personality, but I think that s a trait that is dominant in most people in this line of work. Perhaps the closest she comes to playing a motherly role is through her position as the department s health and safety officer, she said. Johnson helps to implement standard operating guidelines (SOGs) for the safety of firefighters. It was in her role as health and safety officer that she spearheaded the successful effort to make the Yankton Fire Department the first in the state to get all its members to voluntarily sign on to the National Fire Service Seat Belt Pledge. Tens of thousands of firefighters have signed on to the national effort, which began after firefighter Christopher Brian Hunton, 27, of the Amarillo, Texas, fire department fell out of his fire truck in 2005 while responding to an alarm. He was not wearing a seat belt at the time and died two days later from his injuries. A lot of what we do just isn t safe, but we need to make sure we do it as safely as possible, Johnson said. We want everyone 8 HERVOICE SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2009 Latest Fashions in Designer Eyewear Advanced Optometry and Eye Care 22 Convenient Regional Locations Hours: Mon.-Fri. 8 a.m.-5 p.m. visioncareassociates.net Yankton Office P. Steven Anderson, O.D. 2701 Fox Run Parkway Aaron Feser, O.D. 665-7762 Vision Care Associates is a provider for VSP, Blue Shield, Medicare, Medicaid and most other insurance plans.
- Vision Care Associates
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I don t know that they treat me any differently than anyone else and I wouldn t expect them to treat me any differently... We re like a family. That s the most important thing. ~ Jodi Johnson Because my eyes are important, my family goes to Vision Care. JOHNSON continued from page 7 offering the firefighter class, so I decided to take the course to get more experience. I started out just to expand my horizons a little bit and gain experience for EMS, since we work closely together on accidents. Johnson said she didn t give much thought to becoming the first female firefighter to ever serve in Vermillion. I was just another person doing the job, she said. I was glad they gave me an opportunity to do it. It was fun. Her peers in the fire department didn t make a big deal out of it either, according to Johnson. For the most part, I was accepted right away, she said. With my 5-foot, 2-inch stature, I m sure there was some doubt about my abilities, but just like any rookie, you have to prove yourself. Hopefully, I did that. After 3 1/2 years on the Vermillion Fire Department, Johnson moved to Yankton. At about that time, Yankton s first female firefighter, Susan Littlefield, was moving to Columbus, Neb. That put Johnson in the position of being the only female firefighter in the department for a second time. And again, that fact didn t prove to be significant. I don t know that they treat me any differently than anyone else and I wouldn t expect them to treat me any differently, she said. We have a big group that works well together. We re like a family. That s the most important thing. Neither has being a woman in the department put any expectations on her to serve in what may have been considered traditionally female roles, Johnson continued. For example, she doesn t serve as the department s cook. It s a task taken on by the whole department. What I bring as a person not necessarily because I m a woman is a different perspective. I don t know if I could pinpoint what that is, Johnson said. I would say I have a strong care-giver personality, but I think that s a trait that is dominant in most people in this line of work. Perhaps the closest she comes to playing a motherly role is through her position as the department s health and safety officer, she said. Johnson helps to implement standard operating guidelines (SOGs) for the safety of firefighters. It was in her role as health and safety officer that she spearheaded the successful effort to make the Yankton Fire Department the first in the state to get all its members to voluntarily sign on to the National Fire Service Seat Belt Pledge. Tens of thousands of firefighters have signed on to the national effort, which began after firefighter Christopher Brian Hunton, 27, of the Amarillo, Texas, fire department fell out of his fire truck in 2005 while responding to an alarm. He was not wearing a seat belt at the time and died two days later from his injuries. A lot of what we do just isn t safe, but we need to make sure we do it as safely as possible, Johnson said. We want everyone 8 HERVOICE SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2009 Latest Fashions in Designer Eyewear Advanced Optometry and Eye Care 22 Convenient Regional Locations Hours: Mon.-Fri. 8 a.m.-5 p.m. visioncareassociates.net Yankton Office P. Steven Anderson, O.D. 2701 Fox Run Parkway Aaron Feser, O.D. 665-7762 Vision Care Associates is a provider for VSP, Blue Shield, Medicare, Medicaid and most other insurance plans.
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