photo from video courtesy Waimea Community Association

(BIVN) – The town of Waimea gathered on Wednesday, November 16, to honor North Hawaiʻi’s dedicated first responders during a special dinner at Mana Christian ‘Ohana’s Kahilu Town Hall.

Honorees included Waimea Police, South Kohala Fire Stations, EMTs, lifeguards, CERT teams, volunteer teams of Anekona and Waikiʻi, and Pohakuloa Training Area police and fire emergency responders.

“We owe a great deal – sometimes including our lives and those of loved ones – to these caring community servants,” said James Hustace, WCA President.

“While many of these individuals humbly insist they are just doing a job they get paid for, these men and women deserve recognition more than ever due to the pandemic,” said Nancy Carr Smith, the WCA Director who is coordinating the dinner gathering.

photo from video courtesy Waimea Community Association

The spotlighted not-for-profit for the gathering was the Daniel Sayre Foundation with Frank Sayre and Laura Mallery-Sayre, “who have led an extraordinary 15+-year fundraising effort to ensure Hawai’i county first responders have the essential equipment and training needed,” organizers said.

The event was the Waimea Community Association’s first in-person gathering since March of 2020 when COVID forced the organization to hold its monthly community meetings virtually.