By Pat KRAMER

On Friday, a dinner and concert were held at All Nation’s Church in Lake View Terrace to honor the men and women who put their lives at risk to protect others. The 9th Annual Thanksgiving Appreciation Dinner and Concert was dedicated to first responders, which includes LAPD, LAFD, county fire, the Forestry Rangers and the Hansen Dam Rangers.

Cile Borman, a community activist who has served as president of Foothills Trails District Neighborhood Council, the Lakeview Terrace Improvement Association, president of Lakeview Terrace Friends of the Library, and as outreach chair for All Nation’s Church, defined first responders as, “A person who runs toward danger to keep other people safe.”

In addition to performing with the All Nation’s Church choir, Borman acted as mistress of ceremonies for the event, which fed several hundred people from the surrounding communities.

“Every year, the church likes to do something for the community,” said Borman. “This year, it wanted to honor first responders. As you know there have been a lot of fires over the past six months in our area. A lot of the reasoning behind this event was to honor these men and women who work to protect our lives, the environment and our property. Unless you are right in the middle of it, I don’t think you recognize how hard they work. The police, forestry and fire department work together as a smooth unit. It’s a very dangerous job.”

She added, “Whether it’s a soldier going off to war or a policeman on the beat, the reason that they are there is because they have a desire to protect the population.

At the Appreciation Dinner, our first responders were saluted and honored, both during the dinner and in the award presentation that followed.”

Pastor Tae Kim of All Nation’s Church and many of the church volunteers helped create a multi-course dinner, which was free to all who attended. Many other community volunteers helped prepare the dinner, paid for the food and donated gift baskets for the free raffle. In addition to serving a generous barbecue dinner, the church hosted the musical program, followed by the awarding of certificates to numerous first responders.

  Pat KRAMER