Central Catholic student wins Fred J. Gross Memorial Service Award
By LOU WHEELAND, DENNIS MCARDLE
Special to The Press
As part of the June 2021 business meeting, the members of Good Will Fire Co. No. 1, Trexlertown announced the winner of the Fred J. Gross Memorial Service Award.
Established by the fire company in 2016, a graduating high school senior residing within the fire company’s response area is recognized for their volunteer community service during the current academic year.
The award is in memory of Past Chief Fred J. Gross who was a life member of the fire company with more than 45 years of active service.
He strived to always assist his fellow neighbor in their time of need.
Gross instilled this compassion not only in his children and grandchildren, but also many local residents allowing this all-volunteer organization to provide emergency services to the local community for 100 years and counting.
On June 1, representatives from the fire company and the Gross family presented this year’s award to Molly Amsler, a 2021 graduate of Allentown Central Catholic High School.
Molly is the daughter of Jeff and Andrea Amsler of Upper Macungie Township.
As a scholar, she maintained over 3.1 GPA and still made time giving back to her local community.
As a volunteer firefighter with Upper Macungie Station 56, she completed more than 180 training hours to successfully pass her National Pro Board examination and be awarded her Firefighter 1 certification.
In addition to being successful in the classroom, she made the time to respond to over 20 percent of emergency calls within the township and an active participant with Community Service Projects conducted by St. Thomas Moore Church. She has strived for excellence in the classroom and willingly assists her neighbors in their time of need.
Amsler will be attending the University of Oklahoma this fall majoring in fire protection engineering.
This program focuses on industrial fire protection, hazardous material control and emergency medical services.
The program also addresses laws enacted under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1971