Under threatening skies, approximately 300 firefighters, law enforcement officers, first responders and their families attended an appreciation cook-out Thursday evening at Jim Hogg City Park in Quitman.

Hainesville Fire Chief Cory Clanton spoke to the crowd gathered at the pavilion. “This is a calling just like nursing and teaching. We are all in this together and we all have a mission of service. I believe we are people with servants’ hearts and we are blessed to have that,” Clanton explained. “We see so many negative things in the world today. We are fortunate to live in communities which have so many positive things, so many people looking to help our children and to help us. They are there in times of need and we want to be there for others.

“It is a true privilege to provide service. We are all proud of what we do. Mankind needs a kind man, and I believe these people have been chosen to do that and to work as God’s hands in the community. I appreciate you, I appreciate us, and I appreciate your continued support,” Clanton concluded.

Wood County Sheriff-Elect Tom Castloo added a few words to the gathering. “Thanks to all the hard work the ladies have done to put this appreciation cook-out together. We are all one team, the firemen, the ambulance service, law officers, just all first responders. Thanks so much, thanks for putting your lives on the line every day for people who sometimes don’t appreciate it,” Castloo said. “But in this county, with the people we have here, with our shared experiences, if we all pull together, we can solve a lot of issues. We need to start watching each other’s backs and really care for each other. Thank all of you for showing up!”

Event organizer Janae Holland was happy to see the large turnout. “I was just overwhelmed at all of the people who showed up with cookies and things to help us out. The turnout was a great one. I got up early in the morning to watch the weather and they said it would rain about 2 p.m. and stop. That is exactly what happened,” Holland said. “It goes to show you there are a lot of good people out there. After seeing all the bad things in the big cities, we just wanted to show appreciation for our people in Wood County. We have our problems here, but all of our men and women do a wonderful job for us. Not everybody is bad. I think we need to do this appreciation cook-out every year.”