Waimea Community Invited to Participate in Honoring Veterans, First Responders

Waimea Community Association recognizes first responders during a town hall meeting in 2019. (PC: WCA Facebook page)

The Waimea Community Association (WCA) invites the community to recognize North Hawai‘i’s veterans, first responders and front-line health care workers on Veterans Day.

“We owe a great deal – sometimes including our lives and those of loved ones – to these caring community servants,” said James Hustace, WCA President.

The community is invited to assist with recognizing these heroes by participating in a sign-waving on Veterans Day, Nov. 11, from 4-5 p.m. on Māmalahoa Highway near the Ikua Purdy Monument. Additionally, on Nov. 12, residents are invited to attend a virtual Town Meeting at 5:30 p.m., Nov. 12 – streamed “live” on Facebook with members of the various groups speaking briefly about their work and teams.

Honorees will include Hawai‘i Police Department’s South Kohala patrol, Hawai‘i Fire and EMTs, Bravo 9/Anekona-Kanehoa and Waiki‘i volunteer firefighters, Pōhakuloa Training Area police and fire emergency responders, the emergency room nurses, doctors and staff at Queen’s North Hawai‘i Community Hospital, State DLNR Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement (DOCARE) officers, members of Waimea’s Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) and Hawai’i Life Flight crews that airlift individuals to Maui or Honolulu for emergency care.

“While many of these individuals humbly insist they are just doing a job they get paid for, these men and women deserve recognition,” said Nancy Carr Smith, the WCA Director who is coordinating this year’s recognition activities.

In years past, WCA has hosted a large community Mahalo Potluck. Due to COVID-19, community leaders are taking precautions and will deliver baked goods and other treats and gift cards from local restaurants and stores to the various responder groups’ work or meeting places throughout the week.

For more information, go to www.Facebook.com/WaimeaCommunityAssociation, or contact James Hustace at 920-540-3983 or JamesHustace@gmail.com.