July 8th 2026
Monthly Meeting Report
The 311th AFDRA meeting was called to order at 1900, and after the pledge of allegiance, Morris Gutierrez led us in an opening prayer. We held Moment of Silence for Erasmo Garza and family and the meeting attendance was one of the best all year. Welcome back Morris.
Roll call of Officers and Advisory Board members with all Executive Board members present.
Steve Tafoya, candidate for House Representative 12th District, was our guest speaker. Steve is the son of fellow retiree Dave Torres.
President Kerry Horton and Secretary Eddie Abeita were sworn into their respective
E-Board positions.
President’s Report;
By Kerry Horton
We had two first time attendees at the meeting, first was Augustine “Butch” Torres, who attended his first meeting since retiring in 1985, and the second new attendee was recent AFR retiree Lt. Mike Trujillo.
I appointed Greg Aragon to the Advisory Board and Greg has been assisting Herman in AFD history presentations. Greg has accepted the informal position of Assistant Historian.
The 105th Cadet Class graduation will be July 10, at the Kimo on Central at 1 pm. We will also be honoring one of our retirees, so if you are in the area, stop by and join in the ceremony.
If you are interested in a new retiree ID card, please text me a shoulder up selfie at 505-934-2969. I’m trusting that you all will behave.
Vice President’s Report;
By Donny Sanchez
No report
Secretary’s Report;
By Eddie Abeita
Eddie gave an entertaining and accurate reading of the June meeting minutes. A motion was made and passed to accept the minutes as read.
Treasurer’s Report;
By Mike Fox
Mike read the June financial report. A motion was made and passed to accept the financial report as read. As always, the financial books are open for everybody to review.
Historian’s Report;
Herman thanked Greg Aragon for his interest in AFD/AFR history and then turned the floor over to Greg who gave a 10-minute PowerPoint presentation on AFD during the turn of the century.
Committee Reports;
Funeral Committee, Sam reminded everyone of the importance of preplanning your funeral, letting your family know what type of services you want and whether you want a Firefighter service. These things do not happen without planning, and we have provided all the information you need to do the planning with your family on our website-afdretirees.com under Fire Box in the menu.
Picnic Committee, Morris Gutierrez stated that this year’s picnic will be bigger and better than ever, so we hope you are planning on attending and joining in on the festivities. The date is August 22nd, starting at 11 am but get there early to get a table. The location is Rotary Park in Bernalillo. Bring your family for a great meal and enjoy the chance at a multitude of door prizes, raffles, and a silent auction.
Audit Committee, VP Donny Sanchez read the Audit Committee report on our financial books for the past year. The audit, conducted by Donny Sanchez, Richard Sanchez, and Patrick Goodyear, found the books to be in order and all monies to be accounted for. They recommended that we keep our Treasurer, Mike Fox, around for many years to come.
Matters Good for the Association.
Robby Sanchez and Richard Sanchez gave a welfare report on Matt Gutierrez and Robert Otero. Both have had hip replacement surgery and while Robert is healing well, Matt suffered blood clots and an infection, similar to Morris and his knee replacement, and the procedure had to be redone. Matt is resting at home and if you have his number let him know that he is in our thoughts and prayers.
Keep up with events and dates by checking out our website or Facebook page.
Visit our website at afdretirees.com
The meeting was adjourned at 2025.