Volunteer firefighters to be honored Oct. 7
No one said serving as a volunteer firefighter is easy.
No one said serving as a volunteer firefighter is easy.
They put their lives on hold and miss family functions, holidays, ball practices and doctors’ appointments.
They continuously put themselves in danger, running into — yes, INTO — a burning building, crawling into confined spaces, moving through a hostile environment or driving into Mother Nature.
They sit at the scene, offering a shoulder of comfort to a new widow who could not have planned for such an unbearable moment.
They return to work after seeing the worst on a particularly difficult call that didn’t go as planned, despite their best efforts.
They commit themselves to a profession that has high risk and low salary, honoring the choice they made to help others.
Their families endure the challenges inherent in a livelihood and service to others, their dedication to complete strangers.
And despite their rigorous, seemingly endless training, they still wonder if they are up to the task that often determines life and death.
As John Wayne has observed, “Courage is being scared to death, but saddling up anyway.”
It is these often-unsung heroes that will be honored beginning at 6 p.m. on Oct. 7 at the eighth annual Sequoyah County Volunteer Firefighter Appreciation Dinner.
“We love this opportunity to do this once a year to honor the volunteer firefighters who are so deserving. It’s such a tremendous attribute to our county. I didn’t realize how valuable they were until I became a commissioner,” says District 3 Commissioner Jim Rogers.
A year ago when more than 300 people jammed the Sequoyah County Fairgrounds building, Rogers wondered aloud, “Next year, we may have to find a bigger room.”
With a concrete floor now at the Avis Jackson Show Arena, which is able to accommodate even more people for the annual fete, the dinner and prize giveaways will continue to be held at the fairgrounds, 464101 E. 1070 Road.
“We’ve got lots of prizes. Our sponsorships went up this year. We’re gonna have somewhere between $13,000 and $15,000 worth of sponsorships this year, and every penny is spent on the volunteer fire departments,” Rogers says. “We appreciate our sponsors, because we couldn’t do this without them. We also appreciate Cherokee Nation, which provides the meal.”
Rogers then admitted that there was a time when he didn’t fully appreciate the role of volunteer firefighters.
“Most people don’t understand that. I had no clue when I came in as commissioner. I had to figure it out on the fly. We appreciate all the things you guys do,” Rogers told those involved during Monday’s county commissioners meeting. “The county elected officials and the Cherokee Nation, this is our eighth annual volunteer firefighters’ appreciation dinner. It’s something we do once a year. It’s just a small way we can show our appreciation for what you guys do,” Rogers said.
State and national legislators, or their representatives, as well as Cherokee Nation leaders are usually among those in attendance to express their appreciation to the rural volunteer firefighters.
Sponsors this year include A-OK Printing, Agent & Mallory-Martin Funeral Home, Armstrong Bank, Cullum Equipment Services & Hanson Mountain Quarry, Firstar Bank, Hog Creek Salvage, Ideal Storage Sheds, Local Bank, National Bank of Sallisaw, Pafford EMS, Premier Home Health, Sallisaw Lumber Company, Sallisaw Pharmacy, Shield of Shelter Insurance, True Family Rentals, Valley Land Title Company, Victory Gun & Pawn, and Zzoom Bail Bonds.
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God made a volunteer firefighter
And on the eighth day, God looked down on His planned paradise and said, “I need someone who wants to help their neighbors and others in their area when emergencies come and not because they are getting paid to do it — but simply because they care about their community and those who live in it.” So, God made a volunteer firefighter.
God said, “I need someone who would be willing to get up in the middle of the night or in the middle of a nice meal with their spouse and family or even while visiting with friends when they receive an alarm to help their neighbor who has a fire at home, or is injured in a wrecked car, or is simply at home and immediately needs to get to a local hospital emergency room.” So, God made a volunteer firefighter.
God said, “I need someone who is willing to volunteer to train for hundreds of hours to obtain the skills and certifications that are vital and are required by the authorities that govern and accept that even though some of those training hours may seem like a waste of time, they are still required, and must be completed. And then, on top of that, be willing to volunteer hours and hours more to help raise funds so that their emergency vehicles can stay in service.” So, God made a volunteer firefighter.
God said, “I need someone who is willing to come out all through the year, in scorching heat in the summer and bitter cold in the winter, to help redirect traffic in an accident, or block off vehicles during a local parade, and put up with hostile drivers who curse at them and complain that they are being inconvenienced, and who will be able to ignore the slings and arrows of these inconsiderate and ungrateful words and respond professionally back to these drivers in a patient voice.” So, God made a volunteer firefighter.
God said, “I need someone who is willing to work in a team, taking directions for those that they may not particularly like, but know that this leader has the skills and experience that they do not, and follow those directions like their lives depended on it, for indeed, their lives will depend on it, and the lives of their fellow team members as well.” So, God made a volunteer firefighter.
God said, “I need someone who is willing to do the cleanup after the emergency is over, to prepare the vehicles for the next time out, to ensure that all the equipment is secured and operating correctly and that supplies that were used are replaced, even though they are tired and often exhausted after the emergency run, but understands that this is also part of the commitment to the job.” So, God made a volunteer firefighter.
God said, “I need someone who is a father or mother or brother or sister of a youngster that observes and takes note of their parent or sibling serving from their heart, willing to do all those things mentioned above, willing to save others because no one else will, even though they often will get no recognition or acknowledgment of their dedication, and something will begin to grow in that child, something called ‘respect,’ and they dream that someday they too would be able and willing to do that very same thing.” So, God is making a future volunteer firefighter.