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Williams family expresses gratitude to heroic first responders
A scary situation turned into a lifetime of gratitude thanks to quick action by some local first responders. On June 11, The Daily PostAthenian held its annual Best of the Best event at the Barn at Faith Farms. The event is held to award the best people, businesses and organizations in the local area in multiple fields. Included in that group of people were the Williams family of Mike’s Bonding LLC and numerous first responders. By the end of the ceremony, Mike Williams had suffered a medical emergency and those various first responders had sprung into action to save his life. On Oct. 20, those hometown heroes were honored for their quick thinking and heroic actions to keep another member of the community safe. “What began as an ordinary day for our family and our bonding company soon became the day our worst fears almost came true,” stated Dawn Williams during the ceremony. “After wrapping up the day’s business, I went home to get Michael and myself ready for the Best of the Best awards ceremony. Mike felt sluggish and unwell, but he knew how important the day was.” Despite not feeling quite right, Mike Williams felt like he needed to be at the ceremony. “We had worked hard all year and, although we did not know where we had placed, we felt honored, humbled and blessed just to have been selected,” she said. “We had just finished eating when Mike grabbed his neck, then his arm and finally his chest. He told me to ‘call them’ and I knew he meant an ambulance. He would never ask for one unless something was truly wrong.” Thinking quickly, Mike and Dawn made the decision to move
Shown here during the ceremony are (from left) Doug Bailey, McMinn County Sheriff Joe Guy, Jayden Snyder, Dawn Williams, Mike Williams, Dawn Stutts and Moriah Rue. American Medical Response (AMR)’s Kansas Evans, Lance McConkey and Emily Alexander along with Athens Fire Department’s Enoch Dixon are not pictured, but were involved in the rescue. the family outside and alert someone who could help. “He tapped our son Dallas on the leg and said, ‘Let’s get outside,’” Dawn recalled. “I immediately turned around and yelled, ‘Sheriff Guy, it’s Mike!’” According to Dawn, McMinn County Sheriff Joe Guy already knew that Mike was a cancer survivor and a cardiac patient and was familiar with the family and the bonding company. He reached the door before I did, already on the phone,” Dawn said. “Before I could fully process what was happening, EMS personnel, nurses, doctors and law enforcement officers were attending to my husband,” she said. “Everything became a blur. Then, in a moment of clarity, I saw all
those angels caring for him. That day, he was their most important patient. I cannot remember who was on the phone with dispatch, reporting, ‘officer down.’ In less than four minutes – though it felt like hours to me – they had started an IV, administered medication and the ambulance was pulling in.” Along with saving Mike’s life, the quick reaction by first responders left an indelible impact on Dawn. “I will never forget the kindness and compassion they showed my husband or the many people who held me as my world seemed to shatter,” she said. “After Mike was loaded into the ambulance, everyone turned their attention to me, asking how I would get to the hospital to be by his side and whether
I was calm enough to drive. That could have been the worst day in our family’s history, because he is our everything. But with God guiding those angels, I got to keep the love of my life and our children, grandchildren and great-grandchild got to keep their hero.” During the ceremony, Dawn Williams presented each of the first responders present with a hero medal and lifesaver certificate in thanks for their actions. “In our eyes, y’all are heroes, too. Your courage and compassion too often goes unrecognized, but not today,” she said, adding that the medal and certificate symbolize that “your heroism can be proudly recognized and you will always know that you are truly God-sent.”
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Mt. View, Etowah students take part in fire safety
Each year, members of various fire departments throughout the area take time to teach local students about fire safety techniques. Recently, members of the Etowah Rural Fire Department traveled to Mountain View Elementary School and Etowah Elementary School to work with students at both about what firefighters do, how to avoid starting
fires, how to be safe if one happens and various other topics. The Englewood Rural Fire Department also invited students from Englewood Elementary School to the station to learn about fire safety there as well. Shown here are Mt. View students taking part in a fire safety session with Etowah Rural Fire Department.
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Expressing thanks to all first responders across area On some anniversaries we celebrate. On others, we reflect. The 25th anniversary of the attack on America and New York’s World Trade Center is one of the times for reflection. There is truly nothing to celebrate in the extraordinary tragedy of 9/11. As much as I would like to forget some of them, the images from that day will never be out of my mind, nor will the victims and their families. But there is one memory I want to hold on to, one that I want to cherish as the deepest and most lasting of Sept. 11, 2001. It is the memory of the heroism and selflessness demonstrated by law enforcement officers, fire fighters and emergency medical technicians who went about their business that day without concern for their own safety and without consideration for the magnitude of what they were confronting. I suppose the term “first responders” was around before 9/11 but I can’t remember ever hearing or using it before then. It caught on with me because it succinctly and accurately captures not only what these public servants do,
but it says something about who they are. They are people willing to respond without question or hesitation when our community needs them. Men and women willing to make someone else’s emergency or crisis their own and to put their lives on the line doing it. If that doesn’t deserve our respect, nothing does. Most of us have always had an appreciation for first responders whether we called them that or not.
At one time or another, what little boy or little girl didn’t want to grow up to be a police officer or a firefighter? As time passes and most of us go on to do other things with our lives, we tend not only to outgrow our hero worship, but also to start taking things for granted. Then some tragedy happens and our attention is drawn to them again. I am not sure where the tradition of delivering a dessert to first responders on the anniversary of 9/11
started in our company, but I’m glad it did. It started out of someone’s caring and appreciative heart and spread from employee to employee and location to location until stores all over Kentucky and Tennessee were involved. No one ever imagined that taking a meal to first responders as a way of showing our appreciation would turn out to mean so much to the people in our company. As more and SEE RESPONDERS, A6
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more people and locations became involved, a simple gesture became an annual Salute to First Responders. The way we show our appreciation differs from community to community and location to location, but everyone involved knows they have the support and encouragement of our company. We value the opportunity to show their appreciation to first responders. One of our goals is to encourage others in the community to be involved as well. Using the 9/11 anniversary as an opportunity to refresh and rekindle our feelings for first responders is a good thing. It’s a simple but meaningful way to say, “Thank you first responders. We salute you.” Garry McNabb Chief Executive Officer, Cash Express LLC
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Ground broken on new fire station in Athens
After years of back and forth, the beginning is here for a third fire station in the City of Athens. The city hasn’t constructed a new fire station in the past 50 years and talks about a new one have been ongoing off and on for around three decades. However, the process has now shown fruit as ground was broken for the newest station earlier this year. City of Athens officials, both current and former, gathered at the site on Elizabeth Street across from the under-construction McMinn County Health Department to celebrate the milestone. “This whole (Athens Fire Department) crew, they deserve it, our citizens deserve it and we’re happy to make it happen,” interim City Manager Bridget Roberts said. The new station will cost just under $6 million and city council members have yet to decide if that will be paid in full or in part through the city’s capital projects fund or if they’ll take out a loan for some or all of it. However they decide to pay for it, the new station is on its way. “It’s time for us to make sure our citizens are safe,” Athens Mayor Larry Eaton said. “I appreciate our city council for standing up for our citizens. The city is grow-
ing and we need to ensure the safety of our citizens.” Athens Fire Chief Brandon Ainsworth cited a long list of people who have helped make the years of discussion become a reality. “There’s a lot of people to thank,” he said. “It’s not about me. It’s about our community, the citizens and the gentlemen and ladies (in the AFD) standing behind me.”
Former Athens Fire Chief Jim Dyer was at the event and he noted other benefits he believes will come from this new station. “This is a good day for Athens,” he said. “This will allow more development in this part of Athens. The interstate attracts development itself.” AFD Deputy Chief Tim Schultz added that he spoke with Ainsworth outside the
council chambers when the final approval came in for the new station. “I told him in the hallway, I can’t believe it,” he said. “This is something I didn’t think I would see in my career. You cannot put a price on life — this is going to save countless lives.” The expectation was that the construction on the building should be complete by summertime of 2027.
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Veteran mural finished in Englewood, in process in Athens
Local veterans got a pair of opportunities recently to sign a mural commemorating their service to the country. Patriot Memorial Project is leading the way in painting murals in three cities – Englewood, Athens and Niota. Most recently, they completed the mural on the side of the Englewood Police Station. Work is now underway on the mural in downtown Athens and then a third is planned in Niota for later this year. “This has been the joy of our lives to see this come into fruition,” said Jennifer Shepherd, one of the founding members of the Patriot Memorial Project. “This (signing) event means everything to us. It means community. It means honoring America’s veterans.” She noted that this process started due to efforts from her father, Kelly Shepherd. “My father was here (in Englewood) at the flag ceremony in 1969 for Larry Ray Harris, who was from Englewood,” she noted. “Since 1969 the monument was moved and this wasn’t really a memorial space anymore. My father was bothered by that, so we decided to do something about that.” She noted that was how the Patriot Memorial Project was born. Patriot Memorial Project is a non-profit organization with the intention
of honoring the service and sacrifice of American veterans by restoring and building memorials to strengthen communities and provide education for future generations. “We registered with the state as a non-profit and we registered with the federal government as a 501©3 and we had to collect money, attend Englewood town meetings for fundraising and approval, and a lot more,” she recalled on the various processes that lead to the completion of the project. “My father-in-law sat here every single day with the artist, Chris Ingram, making sure that our artist was safe and happy.” Shepherd noted that it took about eight weeks to
complete the mural once the art process officially started. “The impact has been incredible,” Shepherd expressed. “The veteran community is a very tight knit community and they have shown up with their families, purchasing our shirts and bricks, and all that have shown up have signed our wall. “If anyone would like to help support future projects you can Venmo a donation to Patriot Memorial Project,” she stated. “You can also email us at patriotmemorialproject@gmail.com or visit our Facebook, Patriot Memorial Project.” They are also interested in obtaining volunteers to those who would be inter-
ested in helping them with their projects. “We would love to see the Patriot Memorial Project grow and the mission move to even more areas,” expressed another founding member of the organization, Monica Belcher. “We want McMinn County to be known as one of the most patriotic and veteran supporting counties in Tennessee and even America.” Ingram spent several weeks on the Englewood mural and is now at work on the Athens site. “It was an absolute honor to have the opportunity to create this memorial,” Ingram said. “I look forward to doing many more in the future.”
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