Preamble

The Jason Eugene Moody Emergency Fund is established by Maggie Valley Fire & Rescue, Inc (MVFR) to honor the life and legacy of MVFR Captain Jason Moody who tragically lost his life in October 2023. Jason was loved and appreciated by so many in the community he was born, raised, and worked in because of his kind and generous heart. “Moody”, as many around the department called him, never shied away from helping someone else through the charitable donation of his time, wisdom, kindness, and skills. Moody provided a “lesson in charity” to other firefighters by tasking them with assisting others in the community who had asked for help – often called “Moody Duty”. We honor the legacy of Moody by committing as a department to taking care of our community, being charitable with our time and resources, and performing “Moody Duty” when asked to assist. 

Purpose

The intent of the Jason Eugene Moody Emergency Fund is to assist deserving families who are involved in an incident in the MVFR District. These funds may be used to assist in:

·      Temporary housing

·      Transportation needs

·      Food

·      Medical needs

·      Any other special need determined by the Fire Chief

Financing

The Jason Eugene Moody Emergency Fund is funded from a Donation Account that was set up in memory of Jason Eugene Moody. The Donation Account remains open for growth and through charitable contributions or other sources. The procedures for charitable contributions towards the fund are included below:

1.   Deliver cash or check made payable to Maggie Valley Fire & Rescue to the Fire Chief

2.   In the memo section, note “JEMEF” to denote this as a charitable donation to this fund

3.   A receipt for a charitable donation will be provided to the donor by the Fire Chief or Treasurer

Recipient Eligibility

The following criteria must be met for an award of the Jason Eugene Moody Emergency Fund:

·      Recipient can be a member of the department or resident of the MVFR District or otherwise determined by the Fire Chief.

o   Residency is defined as primary residence is within the MVFR District.

·      Incident causing financial hardship must have occurred within the past seven (7) days.

·      Incident must be catastrophic or cause such extreme damage, destruction, or impact that a reasonable person would not describe it as typical or manageable for that resident or family to recover without assistance.

The Fire Chief may add or suspend any eligibility requirements to this list at any time when the deem appropriate provided they inform the MVFR Board of Directors at their next regularly scheduled meeting. 

General Procedures

Jason Eugene Moody Emergency Funds may be requested by contacting the Fire Chief.  The application must be submitted within seven (7) days of the incident. The Fire Chief may accept applications beyond the seven (7) day limit at their discretion, but not to exceed thirty (30) days.

The application will be reviewed by the Fire Chief or designated member and eligibility determination will be made within five (5) business days. When eligibility status is determined, the applicant will be notified. All funds will be awarded are at the discretion of the Fire Chief. Applicant eligibility determinations made by the Fire Chief are final with no recourse for appeal.

Additional transfers of funds from the General Operating Budget of the department may be made at the discretion of the MVFR Board of Directors to this fund. 

MVFR is under no obligation to provide assistance from any other funding source to eligible applicants if this Emergency Fund is exhausted, depleted, or reduced to the financial institution minimum account balance.

Method of Payment

If found eligible, determination of amount awarded will be made by the Fire Chief. The Treasurer will be notified, and a check will be printed for the amount awarded to the applicant from the Emergency Fund account. No cash will be provided from this account. Assistance can be paid by credit card or check as determined by the Fire Chief.

Updated and Modified on April 10, 2024.