Jefferson City organizations again this year will honor first responders with free dinners as the anniversary of the 9/11 attack approaches.
Operation Bugle Boy and American Legion Post 5 will host Patriot Sunday 2019 on Sept. 8. The event provides a complimentary chicken dinner with all the fixings for active Jefferson City-area first responders — including emergency medical services, firefighters, police officers and emergency volunteers — and their families.
The event will feature live music performed by a band that includes retired first responders.
It is scheduled for 4-7 p.m. at the American Legion Hall, 1423 Tanner Bridge Road, in Jefferson City.
Tickets for all 500 of the dinners have been sponsored (so participants don’t have to pay); 18 were sponsored by David and Peggy Beamer, parents of United Flight 93 hero Tod Beamer. The Beamers sponsor one ticket for each year since their son died fighting the terror attack in the skies above rural Pennsylvania.
“This support is a reflection of the love and respect our community has for the men and women who help keep us safe and make it possible to go about our daily lives, often at the risk of their own lives,” Operation Bugle Boy President Chris Jarboe said in a news release. “Because of the generosity of our community, (Operation Bugle Boy) will be able to issue a nice gift bag to the first 165 first responders attending (the event).”
There will also be door prizes available.
First responders are encouraged to stop by Legends Bank, 130 E. McCarty St., to pick up tickets for themselves and their families. Tickets will be available until Sept. 6 or until they are all gone.