‘The community will miss' Keith Woodhall

To the editor: I wanted to send my deepest sympathies to Jane, Jamie and Kyle Woodhall and the rest of the Woodhall family, for the loss of their husband, father, son and brother - Keith Woodhall. Keith had been an active member of the Pine Island Fire Department for more than 15 years and chairman of the Board of Commissioners for the district for almost 15 years. Keith was a caring, dependable, no-nonsense kind of guy that really cared about the community and the 54 people who volunteer as firefighters in our district. The general population has no idea how much work and how many hours goes into keeping a fire district running smoothly. I was one of those people until I took on the role as treasurer for the district and saw first-hand how much time and heart these guys put in - and it’s all volunteer. The commissioners work very hard to do what’s right for both the taxpayers and the firefighters. When it came to Keith’s position as chairman of the board, he took his role very seriously and always kept the taxpayers’ best interests in mind. He was the one you could count on to get things done and get them done right. Even through the last months of his life, he continued to carry on the responsibilities of chairman, rather than resign and leave the commissioners with loose ends to handle without him. It is this kind of self-less behavior that I will never forget about Keith. I thought of him as more than just someone I saw at the meetings once a month. I thought of him as a friend. I will miss him, the members of the Pine Island Fire District will miss him and the community will miss him. With deep regret, Kerry Serritella, treasurer Pine Island Fire District