Family Appreciation Dinner at Suches Fire Department

Every year for several years, the Suches firefighters and first responders have held a dinner where their families are the honored guests.

As has been the tradition, members and their families gathered in the station meeting room for a steak dinner on Saturday evening, February 10th. We gave thanks, broke bread together and shared the fellowship of the entire "family" that is the Suches Fire Department. Station Lt. Ernie Pruitt remarked that the reasoning behind this dinner is to recognize that department members spending time on department activities takes away from family time and the Families' contributions to the mission of the department need to be honored.

It has also been the practice of the department to share the evening with some of the people from the wider community who have been especially important in the life of the department during the past year. This year the department was honored to have as special guests the two representatives from the Fireman's Fund Insurance Company who were instrumental in the department having received a grant of some $30,000 for search and rescue equipment and training. Mrs. Betty Lynch and Ms. Theresa Rice were thanked for their dedicated efforts on behalf of the department and presented with proclamations naming them as honorary life members as well as baseball caps with department ID and their names.

The two fire stations in Suches are a part of the county-wide fire department which consists of the paid headquarters station in Blairsville and a dozen volunteer stations in five districts throughout the county. The career and volunteer firefighters and first responders throughout this system are dedicated to the protection of life and property of Union County residents and visitors alike. If you are interested in sharing this rewarding service, contact the department at (706)439-6095 and you will be put in touch with representatives of the district and station that serve where you live. It is important to know that there are volunteer opportunities at several levels ? you do not have to be interested in going into burning buildings to participate and serve. Firefighting involves much more than that. There are important support activities, both on fire scenes and at the stations, which can be tailored to most degrees of abilities and availabilities. The success of the entire Union County Fire Department depends on not only the combined efforts of the paid and volunteer members currently in the department but on the continued involvement of the community as a whole. There are opportunities for rewarding service and fellowship in the Union County Fire Department: the door is open- c'mon in!