- April 26, 2024
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Two years ago this December, Fred Gleissner was killed in a car accident during the early morning hours of Dec. 3.
He was 24 years old.
A graduate of Flagler Palm Coast High School and then Florida State University, Freddy, which is what close friends and family called him, was well on his way of pursuing his dream: following in his father’s footsteps to become a firefighter. (His father, also Fred, is a retired firefighter with the New York City Fire Department.)
It seems like yesterday I was living in the C-section when the Gleissners moved just a few houses down, on the same street. I was the same age as Fred’s younger brother, Greg. Fred was in the same grade as my older brother.
We all liked sports and enjoyed playing outside. I remember one time in particular.
It was chilly night when Sean and I meandered down the street to the Gleissners. They had paintball guns; we didn’t. All Sean and I wanted to do was shoot the paintball guns. And so, we did. Bullet of paint after bullet of paint, we laced into various targets placed throughout the backyard. It was a blast.
I still remember that night as if it were yesterday. And although it will be two years in December since the tragic crash, Freddy’s smile and friendliness live on.
One reason for that is the Freddy Gleissner-Vinny Gough Sr. Memorial Scholarship Golf Tournament, which is put on by the FGVG Foundation. This year’s tournament will be held Oct. 6, at Halifax Plantation Golf Club. (Gough Sr. was a New York City firefighter who died a few weeks before Freddy, and was a close friend of Fred Gleissner.)
In conjunction with the golf tournament, Fred Gleissner hopes to give away scholarships to youth who are in paramedic school, fire school, or trying to become an EMT. The ultimate goal is to honor his son, Gleissner said.
His plan is to give $3,000 to someone in paramedic school, $1,000 to someone in fire school and $1,000 to someone trying to become an EMT.
Why? It’s simple: “Fred’s dream was to be a fireman, and I’m trying to keep his dream alive by helping someone else reach that goal,” Gleissner said.
He hopes to give away these three scholarships each year, but he needs people to apply.
To apply, go to www.FGVGFoundation.com. Once on the website, you can download the forms and mail them in.
In regard to helping other students, Fred Gleissner added: "It would make me proud knowing that Freddy did something to help other people."
