North Hawaii’s dedicated first responders — whose exceptional performance prevented the loss of life, homes and other structures during the August wildfires, and who put themselves in harm’s way to protect the community literally around the clock 365 days a year — will be honored at a community in-person dinner gathering from 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 15, at Mana Christian ‘Ohana’s Kahilu Town Hall.
The gathering will be hosted by the Waimea Community Association, with kokua from many community organizations and individuals.
Emergency responder honorees will include personnel from several West Hawaii and North Hawaii fire stations, volunteers, lifeguards, police, Pohakuloa Training Area staff, state enforcement officers and others.
The dinner gathering is free, and all are invited. It will begin with a pule by Kimo Ho‘opai of Mana Christian ‘Ohana. Dinner will be set to music by Waimea musician Ryan Hooley, and be prepared by a number of Waimea restaurants and stores including Earls, Ippy’s, Pa‘ina by Ocean, Big Island Brewhaus, Dom DeLucas, Merriman’s, Pau Pizza, Red Water Cafe, Hawaiian Style Cafe, The Fish & The Hog, Moa Kitchen, Tropical Dreams, Puako Store, Two Ladies Kitchen, Starbucks, Foodland and KTA.
“This is the seventh year WCA has honored first responders, and this year the spotlight will be on the volunteers across our island, with special focus on our region’s two volunteer fire departments, 9 Alpha and 9 Bravo, who do so much to support our career firefighters and other responders,” said WCA President James Hustace.
“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 in light of recent wildfires fed by extremely high weather-induced winds,” said Nancy Carr Smith, the WCA director who is coordinating the dinner gathering.
Joining WCA in recognizing the first responders will be Mayor Mitch Roth and Council County members Heather Kimball and Cindy Evans.
The spotlighted not-for-profit will be the Daniel R. Sayre Foundation with Frank Sayre and Laura Mallery-Sayre, who have led a fundraising effort for more than 16 years to ensure Hawaii County first responders have the essential equipment and training needed.
For questions, email WaimeaCommunityAssociation@gmail.com, or call James Hustace at (808) 464-2570.
For questions about the Mahalo First Responders gathering, contact Nancy Carr Smith at (808) 896-2239 or email nancy@alohakohalarealty.com.