Honoring the Granite Mountain Hotshots E7
The 19 Hotshot firefighters who perished in 2013 fighting the Yarnell Hill Fire shared a special bond. Three of their members were part of another brotherhood. Jesse Steed, Travis Turbyfill and William Warneke were all U.S. Marine veterans.
In this podcast, learn about the Prescott tribute and learning center that honors the Hotshots and efforts by the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation to establish scholarships in the name of the three Marines who were part of the crew.
Mardi Read and Dennis Bueschel both have special connections to the Hotshots and serve on the board of the Granite Mountain Interagency Hotshot Crew Learning and Tribute Center based in Prescott. In this podcast they discuss the contributions of the Hotshots, the crew’s deep connection to Prescott and the center which honors them. 
After the loss of 19 hotshots in the Yarnell Hill Fire on June 30, 2013, the Prescott Arizona Fire Department has held in trust all items the community left at Station 7, mourning the loss of the Granite Mountain Interagency Hotshot Crew.
Community members called for action on the items, and recognized the need for a place to commemorate the 19 fallen hotshots.
Over the ensuing months, a nonprofit group was born from this effort: The Granite Mountain Interagency Hotshot Crew Learning and Tribute Center.
The mission of the Center is operate a wildland fire learning center that honors the Granite Mountain Interagency Hotshot Crew (GMIHC) by telling their story, displaying and housing artifacts/memorabilia left at the Station 7 fence, and educating visitors about wildland fire, firefighting, and prevention.
Mardi Read has served 20 years as a K-12 educator and administrator for Prescott Unified School District in Prescott, Arizona.
She serves on the GMIHC Learning and Tribute Center board because she is passionate about educating people about the Granite Mountain Hotshots and wildland fire prevention.
Dennis Bueschel is a retired firefighter with 33 years in the fire service. He has volunteered for three years with Prescott Fire Department doing fire inspections and fire risk assessments in the wildland interface, and he has watched over the Granite Mountain memorial items for the last 8 years.
He serves as a board member for the GMIHC Learning and Tribute Center to remember those that served and their mission, and to educate people on fire safety, fire prevention and defensible space.
Follow the Granite Mountain Interagency Hotshot Crew Learning and Tribute Center on Facebook.
About MCSF
Today’s generation of Marines have made unprecedented sacrifices. And while there are many ways to honor our Nation’s heroes, there is no organization closer to the intersection of real need and lasting impact than the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation (MCSF).
The Foundation provides need-based scholarships to the children of Marines, Navy Corpsmen and Navy Chaplains who have served in Marine units. Every qualified child receives a scholarship.
About Your Co-Hosts
Victoria Rosacci is the 2019-2021 Co-chair of the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation Arizona committee and 2021 Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation 10th year Ball.
Victoria a tax attorney in private practice with her husband of 20 years, a US Marine Corps veteran.
Mike Phillips is a Marine Corps veteran and volunteer with the Foundation’s Arizona committee. He recently retired from a 40-year career in journalism and municipal communications.
Mike is a freelance writer and co-founder of the Arizona Baseball Legacy and Experience, an organization that celebrates the state’s rich baseball history.
