For a small community, showing appreciation for your neighbor is important — and that is what First State Bank continues to do with their annual dinners held for military veterans and first responders.

On March 22, First State Bank held its annual First Responder Appreciation Dinner at the Middlesboro Community Center in honor of our local first responders and the help they provide for the community. Volunteers worked tirelessly to organize the Community Center and cook a quality meal for dozens and dozens of first responders.

Firemen, police officers, emergency medical technicians, dispatchers — all of these responsibilities fall under the umbrella of a first responder.

Robert England, chief of the Middlesboro Fire Department, attended the dinner with his crew.

“Anytime we get positive feedback that shows our training has come into play, how everything’s worked out, then we know we’re on the right path when we’re getting positive community feedback. We always appreciate the community’s support. Without it, we wouldn’t be where we’re at today. As far as a pat on the back or a thank you — we do this job and we don’t expect it. But it’s awful nice to get it,” he said.

England also said that these types of events and outreach are great for getting to know the community.

“When we have this outreach like this and we get together with the community — even though they’re giving us their support and appreciating us for what we do, we still learn a whole lot from them just by casual conversation at these things to where we can improve and even do better,” he said.

Middlesboro Police Sgt. Barry Cowan, who could not attend to the dinner, still offered his appreciation for the event.

“I feel that our job is one of the most scrutinized professions and becoming more dangerous each day. It is reassuring to know that there are people in the community who support our hard work and dedication to the city of Middlesboro,” he said.