Public service honored

It was hard for Omaha senior Firefighter Verrelle Gordon to hold back tears Thursday as he stepped into the Qwest Center ballroom, where a U.S. flag from 9/11 served as the backdrop for the inaugural Firefighter and Police Appreciation Day.

The 32-foot flag was shredded by falling debris from the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001, and the tattered remains were stitched together in 2008 using pieces of flags salvaged after a tornado destroyed the town of Greensburg, Kan.

Also lining the wall were U.S. flags commemorating the 55 Omaha firefighters and 24 Omaha police officers who have lost their lives in the line of duty.

The flags served as a reminder of why event organizers Jerry Hoberman and Ray Somberg created a day to say thank you to Omaha police and firefighters.

The men came up with the idea two years ago while talking about 9/11 attacks and realizing that it had been a while since they thought about the job that police officers and firefighters do every day.

Gordon said it was hard to put into words how it felt to be honored by so many people at the Qwest Center luncheon.

“It’s overwhelming. This is something we don’t get to see every day,” he said. “It just makes coming to work more worth it.”

Mayor Jim Suttle kicked off the day’s events by thanking Police Chief Alex Hayes and Fire Chief Mike McDonnell, along with the 1,400-plus men and women in their departments.

Suttle vowed to keep both departments at full force in the future.

“When you take this job you don’t expect accolades,” Hayes said. “You do it because you want to help the community.”

McDonnell said firefighting is a dangerous job that often keeps firefighters away from their families at night and on holidays.

“You do it because of the people you serve with and the people you help,” McDonnell said. “I want to say thank you to the citizens of Omaha. We will be there 24/7 along with our brother and sister police officers.”

Hundreds of children spent the afternoon outside the Qwest Center learning more about what police and firefighters do every day.

Dianna Chavez, 9, and Erika Rodriguez, 8, waited in line for the fire-smoke trailer, where firefighters would teach them about fire safety.

The two girls attended the event for police and firefighters “to celebrate with them for helping us and saving us,” Erika said.

Donations totaling more than $300,000 have been made in connection with the appreciation day. The money has been used to buy equipment for the two departments.

Somberg said Firefighter and Police Appreciation Day will be recognized statewide next year, and organizers hope it will become a national event in the next few years.

“We had no concept it would be this big,” he said. “It just exploded beyond what we thought.”

All because two retired businessmen realized that it had been a while since they’d thought about the sacrifices of first responders.

Contact the writer:

444-1279, jason.kuiper@owh.com

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