Every day we see news stories reporting violence in our country. We see video recording from people who were there, we see reporters on the scene, but who we don’t see are the first responders who have put their lives on the line to protect our cities. Dispatchers, officers, firefighters, and emergency medical technicians are who deal with the events as they happen to ensure safety and provide medical attention. Here is a quick 'thank you' for all of their hard work and bravery.

Thank you to the dispatchers.

Thank you for sitting by the phone waiting to answer the 911 calls from terrified victims and informants, only to then keep the caller calm as you relay information to the officers, firemen, and medics who will be responding to the scene. You serve as the eyes and ears of a situation before anyone can arrive, and your position is overlooked and underrated way more often than it should be. Without you, how would anyone know where to go and what to prepare for?

Thank you to the officers.

Thank you for putting your lives on the line in order to save those around you. Each day that you wake up and put on your badge, you know there is a chance you might not get home to take it off that night. You enforce rules, ensure safety, and get labeled with the “bad-guy” reputation just because you want to make the world a safer place. You run toward the things that most other people run away from, and you deserve to know that your hard work and bravery doesn’t go unnoticed.

Thank you to the firemen.

Thank you for doing so much more than putting out fires. When you go to work each day, you could be signing up to save a cat from a tree, deliver a baby on the side of the road, or save a child from an overturned vehicle. Other days you could be rescuing a family from a burning house, or have to tell the family outside that there was no way to get their mother out of the flames. Either way, you put yourself in harm’s way every day so that you can keep others safe, and you are so appreciated.

Thank you to the medical technicians.

You are the difference between life and death. You are the calm voice amongst the chaos that says “everything is going to be okay.” You see the most terrifying accidents that most could never dream of, but they leave you with nightmares for weeks. You have made a difference in so many lives, and your bravery, skill, and passion is seen in the lives you’ve saved.

Thank you to each and every person who goes to work with the goal to save a life. You are all amazing human beings.