The North Augusta Chamber of Commerce and business community came together to host an inaugural event commemorating the 24th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.
The First Responders Appreciation Breakfast was held yesterday to honor North Augusta Department of Public Safety (NADPS) members and representatives from the Aiken County and Richmond County Sheriff’s Offices.
Among the businesses sponsoring the event were Blanchard and Calhoun Real Estate, Aiken Physicians Alliance, the Maxwell Law Firm, and Rhodes-Porter.
“I would like to thank all of the businesses that contribute to the Chamber of Commerce and to North Augusta as a whole. Your impact on the community goes much further than your storefront and beyond the services you provide,” Public Safety Chief Junior Johnson told attendees.
Isaac Kelly with Aiken Staffing Associates told ABD that businesses rely on public safety to create a safe environment.
“We’re nothing without a little bit of law and governance,” he said, “So, this is honoring and respecting those people that actually put themselves out there every day and their lives on the line every day to make sure that we are comfortable going door to door for business, that we are comfortable seeking new customers, that we are comfortable putting people to work in our environment.”
In his remarks, Johnson focused on three words: history, humble, and hero. He said the images of the 9/11 attacks will never fade from memory.
“The occurrences that we’ve experienced during our lifetime will impact our actions. September 11 was a terrible tragedy that caused the loss of many lives, and it was especially tragic for the first responder community, who lost members of the FDNY and law enforcement officers,” he said. “There are still members of the first responder community that are losing their lives to this day because of the effects on their bodies from their response. The number of first responders that have died due to cancer from responding to the tower collapse is now greater than the 343 that died.”
Johnson said no one chooses a life of public service to get rich. They made that choice to serve others, adding that was demonstrated the morning Hurricane Helene hit the CSRA.
“Heroes are the officers who went to work on foot the morning of Hurricane Helene, because they had no transportation, but they were able to make life-saving rescues. There are so many scenarios of heroes at North Augusta Public Safety, they are too big to name them all,” he said.
The event included recognition for 13 individuals, nominated by their peers, representing all divisions of NADPS, including Dispatch, Firefighting, Volunteer Services, Investigations, School Resource Officers, Traffic, and Patrol.
The event wrapped up with comments from S.C. State Senator Tom Young (R-Dist. 24), who brought words of thanks from the Aiken County Legislative Delegation.
“I just want to tell you how much we appreciate all the first responders and your families. The commitment that you give, not just on a weekly basis, but on an annual basis,” he said. “Everyone in this room has been impacted in some way by a first responder. We can’t say thank you enough to all the people who do work in public safety and our military.”
