I had the pleasure of being Denny's "co-pilot" for a week as we traveled across Maryland to raise money for Cool Kids Campaign. Dennis selflessly gave up an entire week of his vacation time to donate his talents to Cool Kids. And he was amazing. During the Trek, Justin Berk and his fellow Trekkers bike and hike from Deep Creek Lake to Ocean City in 7 days. But they couldn't do that without the support of Dennis. He helped with navigation, did all the driving, carting around their bikes and other equipment, constantly driving ahead to check out the route and then circling back to ensure that the Trekkers were safe and handing out drinks and snacks. I'll never forget how he showed up the day we left with a wooden bike rack in the trailer that he had handmade the night before so the bikes could stay upright when not in use. During that week, he and I spent a lot of time just talking and waiting for the Trekkers. And the two things he talked about almost exclusively were firefighting and Amy and the kids. His passion and love for both were amazing and so inspiring. His love for Amy was so immense he glowed when he talked about her. In his world she hung the moon. And their four kids were his world. He also drilled into me the importance of always checking for sprinklers and knowing your fire escape route. Ha, he definitely took his firefighting duties seriously. But to this day I always check so it worked. Dennis' eternal smile will always be remembered as well as his devotion to his family and career.
