UnityPoint Health - Sioux City celebrates local first responders
June 27, 2022
UnityPoint Health – Sioux City pulled out all the stops on Saturday to celebrate and thank our local first responders. The first annual First Responder Extravaganza was held on Saturday, June 25 at the Sergeant Bluff Recreation Complex.
Upwards of two hundred first responders and their families showed up on Saturday night and enjoyed free food, beverages, inflatables and a concert put on by Ben Grillet and the Black Bloods.
“We’re honored to put this event on to celebrate our local first responders,” says Lorenzo Suter, president and CEO of UnityPoint Health – Sioux City. “These folks are perfect examples of living out service above self on a daily basis – they deserve all of this and more!”
Kevin Handke, manager of emergency management and EMS at UnityPoint Health – St. Luke’s was instrumental in the planning and execution of this event for his peers. Having spent thirty-three years of his career as a first responder for this community himself, Handke knew exactly what to do to make this celebration a success.
“Thanking a first responder is difficult, because they often don’t see their service as something that deserves acknowledgement,” Handke says. “To spring into action and serve this community is simply who these people are – that’s why I was so excited when our leadership tasked me with the production of this event. These folks and their families are so deserving of a relaxing night of fun, and we’re happy to provide that.”
Suter continues, “This is the least we could do to show our appreciation for these incredible first responders, and best believe we’ll be back again next year – bigger and better!”