OUR TEAM
President
Shawn Levine
Fort Lauderdale Fire Department Lieutenant Shawn Levine recently became our President. As a young person she saw her friends become firefighters and wanted to experience the wide variety of interesting work they enjoyed. Experienced in non-profit operations, she looks forward to leading the Museum in a growing list of activities, including fire safety education, facility rentals, community events, youth birthday parties and use of the facility by our Fire Department
Aside from the fire service, Shawn is an animal lover, owning several horses and dogs, and daughter Logan is an accomplished rodeo competetor.
Vice President
Taylor Beavers
Taylor became a Fort Lauderdale firefighter and paramedic in 2019. He is frequently assigned to Station 35, near Holy Cross Hospital. Active with our Apparatus Team, he helps maintain and operate our 1922 Engine 1 and our 1942 Engine 3, as well as with Buildings and Grounds, landscaping and many other areas of service.
Off duty, Taylor enjoys both salt water and fresh water fishing, including bass fishing in the Everglades.
Treasurer
Ann Lindie-MacNeil
Ann was one of Fort Lauderdale’s first female firefighters, part of a 1978 program creating more diversity on the FD. In 1983 she became a Driver/Engineer (Ann says that she loved driving the engines, always wearing bright lipstick… the talk of the town!) and Lieutenant in 1988.
Ann is married to Bruce MacNeil, a fellow firefighter, and both retired in 2000. They became active with the Museum in 2004, helping clean, scrape and paint everywhere.
In 2010 they moved to Englewood, Florida, near Sarasota. Ann & Bruce are once again active with our Museum; Ann our Treasurer and Bruce helping everywhere he can.
Curator and Secretary
Jim Van Drunen
After earning a degree in fire protection, and training with the Chicago Fire Department, Jim served as the fire marshal of the Harvey IL and fire chief of the Blue Island IL (suburban Chicago) fire departments. Active in founding our Museum from 2004 to 2011, Jim has returned to his long-time services as Curator and Secretary in 2020. Jim and Debbie, his wife, vacationed in Fort Lauderdale for many years, and realized their goal of living here in 1996.
Trustee
Kim Van Sant
Kim served with FLFD, working as a Firefighter/Paramedic. Much of her work was at Fire Station 47, until serious on-the-job injuries interrupted her service. Kim is active in high school youth activities, and helps students get needed Community Service hours while leading them in accomplishing various tasks at our Museum. Our Volunteer Coordinator, you may get a friendly call from Kim for a little help.
Trustee
Mike Grady
Mike served with and retired from FLFD as a Driver/Engineer. He perhaps set a record with three working fires on his first shift! Mike helped rebuilt both our Museum's Engines 1 and 3, and is active in their maintenance and operation for Museum educational and promotional events. He also is also our Museum's Archivist, and is in the process of organizing and preserving the thousands of historic photos, slides, movies, videos and documents in our care and keeping.
Trustee
Erica Lowther
Erica served with a fire department in Missouri, where she was the first female firefighter, and also developed a fire prevention program. She holds a bachelor's degree in Crisis and Disaster Management. After moving to Fort Lauderdale, she served with the Community Emergency Response Team. Over the years, Erica has established an eclectic work background from education to broadcast and production to publication. An experienced writer and publicist, her skills in social media outreach and as Editor of our newsletter are a very valuable asset.
Trustee
Bill Sharp
Born in Ohio, Bill grew up in Hollywood, and moved to Davie in 1977. He enjoyed baseball, football and track in school, and competing in the State Firefighter Olympics since. After spending four years in the Coast Guard, Bill joined the FLFD in 1975, mainly at Station 2. He was promoted to Battalion Chief in 1988. Bill has been very active helping the Museum from our founding, consistently creating Museum improvements. He became a Trustee in 2022.
Off duty, Bill loves to fish and dive in the Florida Keys. Also a craftsman cabinet maker, his trademark woodworking skills are on display everywhere in our Museum, such as all the woodwork in our Day Room and our brass sliding pole feature.
Trustee
Aaron Caja
Aaron moved from Chicago to south Florida at age 12. His fire service career started as a volunteer firefighter with Wilton Manors FD. He then served as a Firefighter/Paramedic with the Oakland Park FD, and began service with the Fort Lauderdale FD in 1999. Historic Fire Station 3 was Aaron’s first assigned station, so preserving and enjoying our Fire Museum for him is like “coming home”. A member of several Technical Rescue Teams, Aaron is now normally assigned to the Support squad.
An instructor at Coral Springs regional Institute of Public Safety, he teaches Driver/Engineer, aerial apparatus operation, and technical rescue classes. Aaron has also served as an IAFF Local 765 “B” shift representative. He began serving as a Museum Trustee in 2021.
A craft-brew and home-brew aficionado, Aaron helps host the annual Firefighter’s Benevolent Association Octoberfest event.
Trustee
Walter Schrubb
Wally grew up here in Fort Lauderdale, and enjoyed college baseball while in school. He joined the Fort Lauderdale Fire Department in 1990, and was promoted to Driver/Engineer in 1994. In 1999 Wally became a Field Training Officer, approving new paramedics to 2-person rescue units. He has served as an EMS instructor at Nova Southeastern University for 26 years, and also taught CERT classes for many years. Wally became active with the Museum, and a trustee, in 2022.
Trustee
Debra Flowers
Debra is on staff at the FLFD Training Bureau. Her Museum activities include overseeing our very important firefighter's Museum Membership payroll program. Debra also leads our Fire Museum College Scholarship program committee.
954 663 2081