Howard County held its annual Volunteer of the Year ceremony last night in Ellicott City, where the In Memoriam Volunteer Award was presented to Erik's parents. From the county's press release: Erik Steciak’s passion for volunteering was enormous. As a member of the West Friendship Volunteer Fire Department, he spent countless hours personally mentoring new members. He trained and familiarized them with the Department, helping them become more effective within the organization and ultimately a better provider of emergency services to the residents of Howard County. As a volunteer paramedic, Steciak was always vigilant and ready to respond to the needs of the community, performing his work with the utmost professionalism. In addition to his work with the fire service, he also volunteered for Americorps out of St. Louis, Missouri, where he spent over 1,700 hours with the organization’s Emergency Response Team. Steciak tragically died in the line of duty in January of this year.