Testimonials

Today is my first day as the City of Huntington Beach Assistant Fire Marshal. Thank you for taking the time to mentor and coach me in preparation for the oral interview for this position. The practice interview critique you provided allowed me to see which of my strengths to emphasize during the interview, and also, where I could improve in preparation for the exam. In particular, your insight on leadership in the fire service renewed my passion for service and allowed me to see a Chief Officer’s perspective on promoting people into leadership/supervisory positions.

Your coaching inspired the best in me and led to a successful interview and to becoming the Assistant Fire Marshal in the City of Huntington Beach.

I wanted to express my sincere appreciation to you for your coaching and mentoring over the past four months. Your knowledge and perspective of the job is without question one of the best! Your ability to teach real world problem solving techniques and operational tactics has prepared me for the position of Captain. Your ability for figuring out the strengths and weaknesses of a candidate and then developing a road map for success is what makes your program truly unique.

When I came to you, I was a candidate; when we finished, I was a contender. On the day of the test I felt confident and assured that I was ready. Your teaching made the difference, I finished Number 1! I would Highly Recommend any candidate taking a promotional exam to spend the time and meet with Chief Lepore. It is the difference between being a candidate and being a contender!

I owe my Battalion Chief’s promotion to Chief Paul Lepore. I say that because, he is the only difference between my first two failed attempts and my successful completion of the exam the third time around. I tried studying on my own the first two times I took the exam. This time, I went to Paul for help. I spent time reviewing the material on his web site and met with him six times in person. I felt very confident going into this test. Don’t waste your time like I did the first two tries and go to Chief Lepore now.

Chief Lepore has successfully mentored students from the entry level exam to various Chief’s exams. Paul studies the exam process and collects information from many sources. All of his students come back to him with the results of their tests. The material is then processed and used to keep abreast of the current trends in testing.

He knows what the raters are looking for and how to get you to that level. He has the unique ability to find out what your deficits are and work on them, turning them into your strengths. I couldn’t recommend Chief Lepore any higher, than to state again that he coached me to my new position as a Battalion Chief with the Long Beach Fire Department. Thanks, Paul!

I reflect on how impactful your time and effort was by way of information, style and delivery. I know that the time you invested in me had a direct reflection of how I looked at the exam, but more importantly trained to perform on the job. It is with sincere gratitude I write you this long overdue “thank you.”

I have enjoyed applying the KSA’s you imparted and practiced with me. I know your delivery was modeled based on my learning style and need to understand the material; your individual tutorial sessions assist me in developing the performance required to do the job. Again, I personally appreciate your continued influence on me, and more importantly, the Fire Service.

Chief Lepore’s experience and knowledge prepared me to embrace the exam process poised and confident! His unique teaching style put me in a relaxed setting that gradually increased my self-assurance following every step through the assessment. After several sessions I felt well prepared for my exam.

Chief, your coaching and mentoring left me eager to venture into my new position and to “Model the Conduct!” Once again, thank you for sharing the knowledge.

I write this as I am finishing my first segment in the front seat as a Beverly Hills Fire Captain. I am extremely thankful for your assistance along the way. I always felt like I had all of the tools along the way, but you helped me to put them into order. In addition, you helped me gain a new perspective of the Captain’s position. For that I am very grateful. My sessions with you prepared me for the promotional process in ways that I did not expect. Beyond the increased understanding of my tactical responsibilities, your mentoring helped me to get to know myself better.

You have assisted me in broadening my knowledge of what it takes to become a leader in the Fire Service. Our discussions regarding my administrative allegiance, discipline, coaching and mentoring, and so many other pertinent topics truly motivated and steered me in the right direction. Thanks again Paul, I couldn’t have done it without you!

I wanted to send my sincere thanks to you for all of your help in preparing me for my new position of Fire Captain. While I was confident that I would be able to study my way past the written exam, I also was well aware that I had much to learn if I were going to be successful in the assessment center and in the job itself. You did a fantastic job of helping identify what areas I needed to focus on the most to give me the skills and confidence to be prepared for both the job and the assessment center. I was really able to relate to your method of instruction. One of the biggest things I got from you that likely saved me from some tough learning experiences and poor scores was how to be successful in the station.

What worked in the firehouse years ago and even is condoned today as a firefighter can get you in a ton of trouble as a Captain. The experiences and perspectives you shared with me on many subjects made a lot of sense and I think really resonated with the interview panel and employee counseling panel as I had to address certain hot topic issues. Certainly, the time we spent on tactical operations was also invaluable. You brought up real world scenarios that I never would have been prepared for and helped me build a system for managing almost any incident.

While I am sure money is a factor as people get free input from Captains they trust, I definitely learned through this process that the perspective of other Captains (even ones I trust and respect) is not always up to date with the current thoughts on how a new Captain should manage operations or a crew and can hurt you in the testing process. You’ve been an evaluator for promotional tests throughout the U.S. and know what works. I was determined to take this test only one time and getting your assistance made all of the difference. I know that you have successfully helped hundreds of Captains get promoted over the years, but the results from my test alone speak for themselves. I finished #2 out of 109 applicants. Not only that, but I know that you worked with at least four guys that finished in the top 13. These results reaffirm to me that every penny was money well spent. I would definitely recommend you to anybody taking a promotional test. Thanks again Paul!

I entered my first assessment center with marked uncertainty, especially concerning the employee counseling. With all of my study groups, one thing was missing: Chuck Fedak. Chuck presented my partner and I with countless repetition for this event and in two sessions gave me the confidence it took to walk into my exam prepared to handle anything thrown my way. His personal yet professional approach not only prepared me for the exam— but also prepared me for the rank of Captain for which I am forever thankful. I would highly recommend Aspiring Fire Officers for any candidate seeking promotion. Thanks Chuck!

I wanted to let you know that I was promoted to captain…Because of you and your course, I rocked the employee discipline scenario. My chief wants me to teach the concepts that I learned from you. Thank you for giving back to the fire service.