Breakfast honors Mesa first responders

Sep. 22—Over 250 leaders and officers from Mesa Fire and Medical, Mesa Police and the state fire academy were treated to a special breakfast last weekend as part of a week of service commemorating the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks.

The first such event honoring Mesa first responders was organized by JustServe.org, a website that offers an array of volunteer activities, in partnership with the city and the 9/11 National Day of Service and Remembrance .

"JustServe started in Arizona in 2014, so we are approaching a decade of helping people find ways to serve and help in their communities," said Ruth Pagán, the network's Arizona director.

"Over this time, JustServe has evolved and grown into a real community presence," she said. "We work with hundreds of organizations, large and small, and have hundreds of projects posted at any given time. We have more than 47,000 registered users in the state, and those numbers are growing because we are always inviting people."

But Pagán noted that JustServe also aims to "build unity in our communities" and the commemoration of 9/11 offers a "unifying them," just as its other two major days of Service — Martin Luther King Day in January and Global Youth Service Day in April.

The breakfast at Mesa Convention. Center kicked off a week of service activities that involved hundreds of volunteers.

Speakers included: West Mesa JustServe Outreach Specialist Adam Anderson; Mesa Fire Assistant Chief Forrest Smith and Deputy Director Tara Acuña; Assistant Mesa Police Chief Ed Wessing; City Council members Mark Freeman and Scott Somers; and JustServe Specialist Fred Ashby.

Students from Johnson Elementary School and youth from the Kimball East Stake of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints created posters and wrote cards of appreciation for the breakfast guests.

In addition, a group of JustServe community volunteers made 52 that were presented to first responder leadership.

The breakfast was sponsored by MR Tanner Construction, the Mesa Convention Center and Delta Hotels by Marriott Phoenix Mesa.

Smith expressed his appreciation for the first responders, stating, "I know it's tough to get our firefighters and police officers to come out to be recognized, so thank you for taking the time to come out."

He told the JustServe volunteers, "Your engagement demonstrates the network of volunteerism and community support that epitomizes the nature of who we are as a country and who we are as Americans.

"Your ability to connect volunteers to humanitarian causes and organizations give participants purpose, and on the receiving end, dignified and much needed support."

Acuña added, "Volunteers make all the difference to the community."

And Wessing noted the loss that was being commemorated from that tragedy 22 years ago.

"Not only did we lose so many brothers and sisters in blue... but thousands of community members across the country were lost," he said "The fact that we have folks across the city doing projects, just saying thank you and honoring the sacrifice of our first responders [for] the work that they do just speaks greatly for the city of Mesa.

"Many people [remember] tragedies by raising a flag," Wessing continued. "But when we have groups like JustServe that not only honor that day, but they honor the communities that were impacted by service, that is what is important; doing something with your hands."

Freeman told attendees that the "dedication, courage and commitment you bring to the job every day cannot be overstated."

Somers added, "We are coming together to volunteer in the memory of those people who fell, who served our community, who went overseas to avenge our loss."