Ledyard fire volunteer receives Kraft MVP award

Ledyard - A 30-year volunteer for the Gales Ferry Volunteer Fire Co. was awarded $2,500 during the Myra Kraft Community MVP Awards on Wednesday.

Fire Police Capt. Larry Laflamme was one of 16 individuals who were awarded grants totaling $100,000 during the community service-driven awards ceremony. The money is donated to the organization for which the individual volunteers.

The ceremony commemorates the legacy of volunteerism left behind by the late Myra Kraft, wife of Patriots owner Robert Kraft.

"I nominated him because he's still coming to calls at 79 years old and he just doesn't stop," Gales Ferry fire Chief Tony Saccone said Thursday of Laflamme. "If you look at his 30 years, there's about 15,000 hours of volunteering to the town. Most of the time, there's no stopping him."

Saccone said that out of 303 applications for the awards, only 16 individuals were chosen from all six New England states. Award recipients ranged in age from 18 to 82 and also had the opportunity to meet Patriots quarterback Tom Brady and tight end Rob Gronkowski.

Laflamme, a Gales Ferry resident, said Thursday that being in the presence of the 15 other awards recipients was "unbelievable."

"We had our pictures taken with Mr. Kraft, the players and the cheerleaders," Laflamme said, noting that he is "somewhat" of a Patriots fan.

He said he responds to about 150 calls through the year but that over the last three years he's slowed down because of some medical issues.

"The camaraderie among the volunteers in the fire company and all the nice people we have there makes it fun being there," he said.

"It's a lot of work to help everybody else out working on accidents with the local police, but it's fun getting along with all the people and learning a lot of things we didn't know before."

j.hanckel@theday.com