Fr. Gerard Alba, St. Pius X parish in Mission, KS

Fr. Quentin Schmitz, St. Gregory the Great parish, Marysville, KS

Married to his best friend, Tricia Ford Baldwin for 34 years.

• Three kids - Matthew (trekker from previous climbs) who is married to Kristina Grandon Baldwin Meghan Burns Baldwin who is married to Adam Burns and has three children; Kathleen Baldwin, nurse extraordinaire.  

• This will be Jim's 3rd trek with Fire Ministries

• Summits - Challenger Point 2018 and Mt. Columbia and Mt. Harvard 2021

• Favorite climbing memory - Russ Engel yelling in wee hours of the morning, "GET OUT OF HERE BEAR!" while kneeling at the entrance to his tent as he could not stand up due to post summit leg cramps."  Yes, there was a juvenile delinquent bear that constantly harassed us during the day and night.  

• My personal trek goal is to summit both Uncompahgre Peak (14,308’) and Wetterhorn Peak (14,021’).  

• My personal financial goal is to raise awareness of and $2,000 for scholarships for young people aging out the Foster Care system.  We must help these young people and give them hope to live a beautiful life.  

Tony serves on the board of F.I.R.E. Ministries - an organization that exists to bring God and Men together in the outdoors.  Tony and his wife Emily are celebrating their 25th Anniversary this summer. They have three daughters 21, 19 and 14. This will be Tony's 5th trek with FIRE Ministries.

Summits:

2014- Grays Peak and Torey's Peak

2016- Mt of the Holy Cross

2018- Challenger Point

2021- Mt. Harvard

Why I am passionate about this issue? The Foster Care System is under duress across the entire United States. I want my friends and family to know there are many ways to get involved to help with this cause that DON"T require becoming a foster parent.

Fundraising Goal: $5,000

Family is all important in today’s world.  It makes who we are. Forms us to be ready for the challenges of life.  I am married to Barb for 41 years and have four marvelous children.

This will be my third mission trek.  And this mission is all important.  It is time for society to step forward to give young people the opportunity to succeed.  Foster Care needs help.  And as foster children grow out of foster care, the job is not over.  So, raising money for this mission can make a significant difference for not only these you people, but for society as a whole.

Join us in making a donation.  Also, if you would like to be involved in our long term efforts, reach out to one of the team. 

Pat is married to Cynthia and they have a blended family of five children ranging in age from 18-25. Between the two of them, they have 15 siblings and 25 nieces and nephews and understand the bond that a family has. When not estimating oil & gas projects for a KC-based engineering design/build firm, Pat enjoys being in the outdoors with his family - hiking, camping, skiing, sailing, flying, cycling, roller coaster riding and having fun wherever he ventures off to.

This will be Pat's fourth trek with F.I.R.E. on the Mountain, having summited: 2016 Mt of the Holy Cross

2018 Challenger Point

2021 Mt Harvard

One of Pat’s favorite hiking memory was with his dad, brother, sister, and brother in-law in 2005. His dad had undergone heart surgery and started hiking to get back in shape when some of his siblings decided to help him stand on top of the highest point in the contiguous US, so they headed to CA and did a 5 day backpacking trek along the John Muir Trail and summited Mt Whitney (picture on Summit).

Pat’s personal goal is to see that every man makes it to the summit.

Tyler and Kelly have been married for 10 years. They have 4 boys Luke, Matthew, David, and Michael. Tyler is in IT at Dairy farmers of America and also just celebrated his 9th year as a Catholic convert from Judaism. He and his family attend Prince of Peace in Olathe. 

Jason Davis Married to Jacki for 19 years.

One Daughter (Oliviah)

Occupation:  Civil Engineer

This will be Jason's second trek with FIRE Ministries.

Summits:

-2010 Cloud Peak, Wyoming

-2021 Mt Rainier, WA (did not summit, but hiked on trails in and around Mt Rainier)

- 2021 Mt. Harvard, CO (FIRE on the Mountain)

Favorite climbing memory- celebrating Mass at the summit of Mt. Harvard!

Married to Katy, 37 years,

One child, Amanda Breeden, husband, Jay with two beautiful Granddaughters.

This will be Ray's second trek with Fire Ministries, 

My first summit/trek was Mt. Harvard in 2021

Favorite climbing memories, sun, rain mud and snow all within two hours. Strangers stopping at our campfire for fellowship. Celebrating Holy Mass at 14,400 feet.

My personal goal is to successfully reach the summit of Mt. Uncompahgre.

My personal financial goal on this trek is to raise $3,000 towards this cause

Adam graduated from Benedictine College and now works as a Manufacturing Design Engineer. Adam and Hannah have been married for 1.5 years and are expecting their first child. They attend Divine Mercy Parish in Gardner. This will be Adam’s first summit attempt on any mountain and his first trek with FIRE Ministries.

Brent has been married to Rachelle for 28 years, and they have two children - Tyler and Reese - plus three dogs. Tyler will be starting his Junior year at William Jewell College, and Reese will be starting her Junior year at Mill Valley High School. Brent graduated from Kansas State University and is the Customs Engineering Manager for Labconco, where he has been for 10 years.

This will be Brent’s first mountain attempt and Trek with FIRE Ministries. He is looking to challenge himself both physically and spiritually during this climb.

Married to Jill for 30 years, six children.
This is my rookie season for FIRE Ministries.
I believe I got invited by carrying my backpack to morning Mass while training for a Glacier NP adventure. My friends Paul and Patti Jablonski are my connection to foster care. Their years of dedication affirm the importance of our mission.

Brad and Angie have five children - Hayden 24, Cade 22, Mason 21, Cole 20 and Magen 18.  Brad retired after 31 years of coaching high school football in Kansas.  He is an avid fly fisherman and now coaches football and basketball at St. Joe Benton High School. The is his second summit with FIRE on the Mountain having climbed Mt Harvard in 2021. 

Tony, 59, married Cheryl 34 years ago and they moved from Nebraska to Lenexa 24 years ago.  They are campers, explorers and hikers.  Tony and Cheryl have two daughters and one son, and are grandparents to three girls and a boy.  Another granddaughter is on the way after the summit, sometime in September. 

Shawn and Annie have 7 kids, 11 grandkids and one on the way.  He retired recently after 43 years with the railroad.  Shawn is an avid hunter and fisherman.  He will attempt to hike the Grand Canyon rim to rim in one day in October.  This will be his first trek with F.I.R.E.

Shawn and Annie serve as respite Foster Parents on a regular basis.

Tim and Courtney have been married eight years and have four children - Luke, Samuel, James and Anne.  Tim works on healthcare IT for Oracle Cerner.  He attends church at Prince of Peace Parish in Olathe, KS. 

Jake Bishop, 25, will be attempting his second hike with FIRE Ministries. His first one was in 2018 when he summitted Challenger Point.  When Jake is not working at Suburban Lawn & Garden, he works on his side gig of music production and audio engineering (Known as G-tone beats).

Jake’s goal is to be a spiritual guide and inspire other men to the summit as he was encouraged in 2018. The trek was a growing experience for him and he would like to see others have this same experience. 

Jake’s favorite Bible verse is Hebrews 10:36 "For you have need of patient endurance, so that when you have carried out the will of God, you may receive and enjoy to the fullest what is promised."