September 27, 2013 is Colorado’s First Responder Appreciation Day as designated by unanimous votes in the Colorado Assembly. This will be the fourth annual First Responder Appreciation Day in Colorado. This year, we welcome Wisconsin, Illinois and Cayuga Falls, Ohio in joining Colorado and Oregon, honoring first responders on September 27.
The drive is to establish National First Responder Appreciation Day through the establishment of the day by all States. This approach has been taken, as a fall back, due to the reluctance of the United Staes Congress and the White House to designate a National Day in honor of our first responders.
First Responder Appreciation Day has been designated as September 27 in recognition of the collective efforts of multiple first responder agencies on September 27, 2006 at Platte Canyon High School. Colorado is leading the national effort and has set the example for communities across the country to show their appreciation to first responders.
In Colorado, we still face deployment of many of our first responders in the flood areas. Between the heroics of citizens and the work of the first responders, we were able to avoid a high loss of life in this cataclysmic flood. It should be noted, the between the resilience of the Colorado people and local first responder organizations, resources from other states and the federal government were able to deploy in what has been called one of the most organized natural disasters.
First Responder Appreciation Day is designed to open a two-way dialog between public safety officers and the public, while affording the opportunity and opportunity to show their appreciation to these brave men and women. Through continued dialog, we can all work towards making our communities safer, regardless of what we encounter.
Citizens are encouraged to thank their first responders within their local community on September 27. In addition, an event honoring first responders will be held in Littleton and Bailey on September 29th. The Emily’s Parade is a motorcycle parade extending from Columbine High School to Platte Canyon High School in recognition of what happened on September 27, 2006; the Platte Canyon High School shooting. You can learn more about the Emily’s Parade at,
www.iloveyouguys.org
.
