Deere supports new documentary film ‘Odd Hours, No Pay, Cool Hat’
John Deere, Moline, Illinois, and the National Volunteer Fire Council have joined forces to support the new documentary film “Odd Hours, No Pay, Cool Hat.”
The film highlights diverse stories of rural volunteer firefighters from across the country and paints a portrait of these brave individuals who serve their communities. The film will soon be released nationally, and producers hope those who watch it will be inspired to sign up to be volunteer firefighters through the NVFC’s “Make Me a Firefighter” campaign.
Of the 1.1 million firefighters in the U.S. today, more than 700,000 are volunteers who provide a vital service to rural communities across the country. These volunteers answer the call and are among the first responders to arrive on the scene of grain bin and other structure fires, brush fires, vehicle accidents, hazardous chemical spills and other accidents.
Many volunteers are farmers, ranchers, contractors, loggers, John Deere employees or John Deere dealership employees. Nate Clark, global director for corporate social responsibility at John Deere and president of the John Deere Foundation, said John Deere employees recorded more than 13,000 hours in 2022 volunteering as firefighter and emergency responders.
“John Deere and our employees recognize the importance of volunteer firefighters and emergency responders in communities across the country,” Clark said. “Some of the individuals featured in the film are John Deere customers and many John Deere dealers provided financial support for the film’s distribution. All John Deere dealers will be able to use the film free of charge to help local recruitment efforts of volunteer firefighters.”
