CONTACT: Mark E. Brady, Public Information Officer, [email protected]
The Yvorra Leadership Development Foundation (YLD) is proud to recognize one of our recent scholarship recipients, Justin R. Lenker. Lenker serves as a Career Master Firefighter for the Lower Allen Department of Public Safety in Camp Hill, PA, and was recently promoted to Assistant Chief of the Dauphin County Hazardous Materials Response Team. He was awarded the Chief John M. Eversole Scholarship for Hazardous Materials Emergency Responders.
The Chief Eversole Scholarship provides financial assistance to individuals or organizations seeking training or educational opportunities related to hazardous materials or Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) response.
Lenker will use his scholarship to complete his master’s degree in emergency management. “I am not here to change the organization, but to help it continue to thrive and survive even after I am gone,” said Lenker.
Michael Hildebrand, President of the YLD Foundation, added, “The Foundation is proud to support Assistant Chief Lenker in his mission to learn, lead, and train others, ensuring the future success of the Dauphin County Hazardous Materials Response Team.”
The Dauphin County Hazardous Materials Response Team is a county-run, combination special operations team consisting of over fifty members, including three career staff. The team provides hazardous materials response for Dauphin County and recently expanded to cover neighboring Perry County. It maintains a duty officer on call 24/7, 365 days a year.
The team’s primary responsibility is to provide response and mitigation services for fire, police, and EMS agencies, as well as assist other county, state, and federal teams. Its membership includes professionals from career and volunteer fire services, emergency medical services, the coroner’s office, private corporations, and other specialized fields.
Since the early 1990s, the team has been a thriving organization, supported by memorandums of understanding with agencies such as the Harrisburg Bureau of Fire, the Defense Logistics Agency, and the Civil Support Team.
Each year, YLD recognizes emerging and developing leaders in fire, EMS, hazmat, emergency management, and homeland security with scholarships. In 2024, YLD awarded a total of $44,000 to seven individual recipients and two departments.
The application period for a YLD Scholarship runs from August 1 to October 30. For more information about YLD and our scholarship program, visit YLD.org.