The Elks Lodge of Plant City was filled with holiday cheer last week when the organization hosted its annual lunch and dinner for the Plant City Police Department and Plant City Fire Rescue.
The Elks have always gone above and beyond when it comes to supporting their community and for more than 30 years, part of that service has been dedicated to showing their appreciation for local first responders.
Way back when the Lodge was on Maryland Street, Mike Smith, former Exalted Ruler and longtime Elks member, began the tradition and it’s been an evening the Lodge has looked forward to ever since.
“I was pulled into it about 10 or 11 years ago,” Judy Wise, veterans chairman and event organizer for the Elks, said. “Somebody got sick and asked if I could do this. It means a lot to me personally and it meant something for the Elks to be able to continue this every year. Even before my son became a police officer, I have had a special place in my heart for our first responders.”
Wise said the atmosphere around the nation regarding first responders in general — but especially police — has made hosting the event even more of a priority for the Lodge. She said in Plant City, the community still values its law enforcement and first responders and she hopes when they walk away with full bellies and takeaway meals, they know they are cherished. The dinner is also open to their families and part of that draw is in hopes their children see that their parents are considered heroes by the Elks.
At approximately 7 a.m. on Dec. 12, members of the Elks Lodge filed into the building. Soon the kitchen was bustling with life and the hearty aroma of holiday recipes filled the air. Ham, green beans, scalloped potatoes, hot rolls and a plethora of desserts were baked and presented to the attendees. The menu has stayed consistent for the last five years and Wise said they have the preparation routine down to a science.
The day before, she and Elks members Rich and Judy Glorioso spent hours slicing the ham off the bone and getting it ready for easy baking Thursday morning. She said this year, due to some health problems, she asked the Elks to really throw their support behind this and help bring it to life. Volunteer after volunteer showed up to lend a hand.
During the lunch, Police Chief Ed Duncan took a moment to stand in front of the decorated Christmas tree and present two of his employees with the Employee of the Year award. This year both recipients were civilian staff members. The awards went to Brandon Volden and Whitney St. Amant. The party was then in full swing as Duncan raffled off some gifts to those in attendance.
The Elks surprised PCPD with a gift during the presentation. Wise’s son alerted her to the fact that many of the defibrillators in the PCPD car’s were not usable due to having old batteries. A group had purchased the lifesaving equipment for PCPD, but as time wore on the batteries began to fade. Wise approached the Elks and they agreed to try and get a grant to purchase new batteries for the unit.
They were able to score a $2,500 National Elks Beacon Grant and then landed a matching State Elks Marching Grant that gave them a total of $5,000 to spend on the items. However, they were still $750 short of the final price tag. J.J. Calhoun and David Brewington stepped up to the plate and chipped in the remaining funds.
Because police are often the first on the scene, having defibrillators on hand can sometimes make the difference in someone surviving a call or not. Wise said seconds count when it comes to heart attacks and strokes, and it was important to the Elks that they help fill this need in the community. They presented the batteries to the police during the ceremony and even volunteered to install them in the machines themselves.
The room was full of PCPD employees, several of whom returned to duty following their lunch. As they eventually filed out and headed back to their jobs, the Elks members cleaned up the room, headed back into the kitchen and began preparing for the dinner that was held a few hours later for PCFR.
When Fire Rescue trickled into the building, many brought along hearty concoctions and sweet treats of their own. The potluck-style dinner has become a tradition for the department and the room once again filled to near capacity with the abundance of attendees.
Following dinner, a brief overview of the past year was given before launching into the award ceremony. Calls were up: in the 2018 fiscal year there had been 5,048 calls to the department, and in fiscal year 2019 they received 5,217 calls.
In a surprise turn of events, the Iron Man Award and the Firefighter of the Year Award were given to the same man: Mario Soto. Soto had one impressive year behind him. He responded to 852 calls and even performed lifesaving work on his time off. On the morning of June 3, Soto was off duty and enjoying a hearty breakfast at Fred’s Market Restaurant. While there, a patron entered cardiac arrest and slumped over on a table.
Soto rushed to his aid and performed CPR for six full minutes before help arrived. The patron was transported to South Florida Baptist Hospital and pulled through, largely in part to Soto’s actions at Fred’s.
Hearing the stories from both departments and learning just how hard the first responders work to keep the community safe just encourages the Elks to make it a point to keep this event going year after year. Wise said the Elks care so much for their first responders and community as a whole, and while they’re not a civic club on paper, they “absolutely do our part to give back, more than most people will ever know.”