New England Honoring emergency services

Ashley Koffler, The Dickinson Press, N.D.
·2 min read

Dec. 5—NEW ENGLAND — The ones who show up when you need them the most don't always get the appreciation they deserve, but residents have come together to recognize area first responders.

A recognition and awards banquet will be held at Memorial Hall on Dec. 10 to honor New England and Amidon ambulance services, volunteers firefighters and law enforcement officials. The New England Lions Club, NE Knights of Columbus and American Legion Post 66 collaborated to sponsor and organize the event, said Lewellyn Rustan, who is a member of both the Lions and Legion.

"It's definitely truly a full community involved procedure here," Rustan said. "What we're doing is we're having the banquet in recognition of all of the people that protect us."

Dinner begins at 6 p.m. The meal is free for the first responders and one guest. More than 80 volunteers and service members were invited according to New England Lions member Butch Frank.

"It's going to be a really nice meal and it's just $15 a person," Frank said. "It's gonna be all the trimmings, mashed potatoes, a few side dishes, dessert, that type of thing."

Each organization being honored will be able to give out any awards they deem fit during the banquet, he added.

"Then once everything's organized, we have a cordless mic we pass around and let people share memories and thoughts," Rustan said. "I expect that'll be funny, too."

The event will be funded by the gaming machines that the sponsoring organizations have in New England. It's been about 10 years since the area has held a recognition banquet for their emergency responders.

"We as lions, we try and find ways to promote community and then help out and stuff like that," Frank said. "We just realized that it's been a long time since we've had one, and we decided it was time to do it again."

The event is open to the public but a limited number of tickets will be available at the door, so purchasing them in advance is recommended. To do so, contact Rustan at 701- 579-4347 or Frank at 701-440-6193.