It was our pleasure to prepare and deliver 140 lunches and giant "Thank You" cards to the fine men and women of Southfield Police Department and Fire Department. Lead by Chief Elvin Barren, several police officers met our caravan of cars when we arrived at the police station.

While St. Anne's Mead was there to thank them for their extraordinary service, Chief Barren gave accolades to all of us for providing an exceptional community "give back" day to the police, telling Fox 2, CW50 and WXYZ that "this event does so much more than just feed us, it is a huge morale booster." Chief Barren then proceeded to give us "Good Citizen" medals.

Officer Kelly Buckberry talked about their outreach to the community, providing crime prevention training to employee groups, church groups and residential groups.
St. Anne's Mead (Carrie, Preston, Jane and Peggy) with Chief Barren and his team.
Special thanks to our Trustees Jerry Rubin, Sheila Brice and our super volunteer, Sue Nine, who helped deliver lunch and bring greetings to the police and fire teams! Not pictured are Jennifer Stone and Monica Ware who also helped load and deliver the lunches.
We then travelled to Southfield Fire Department, to meet Chief Johnny Menifee, Deputy Chief Antonio Macias and a wonderful team of fire fighters and EMT's, many of whom are cross-trained. Chief Menifee, with a Master's Degree in IT, talked about how far they've come with technology, minimizing redundant paperwork and providing clearer direction for their emergency runs. While 87% of their runs are medical emergencies, he asserts that they are constantly doing training on fire prevention.

Like the police, they are also being creative in their recruitment efforts. Beginning this year, they will be presenting a program in both Southfield High Schools to encourage students to consider work as a fire prevention professional and emergency medical technician.

Both groups were delighted by the lunches prepared by Chef Preston, Dietitian Carrie and the culinary team at St. Anne's Mead.

Very grateful for our support of their work, we promised our first responders that we we will be back next year!
A Balloon for every reason. Anita Lemmons poses with our Salute to Firefighters balloon.
Fire Chief Johnny Menifee holds the giant "Thank You" Card, signed by our residents, staff and volunteers.
Chief Johnny Menifee and team pose with Robin and Anita of St. Anne's Mead. Behind them is the lovely "Charlene," their state-of-the-art fire engine with the latest technology and a 100 foot ladder.
All smiles at the Fire Station as the team reads the "thank you" card!
Doug the videographer prepares Chief Barren to speak on camera. Officer Buckberry in foreground.
Chief Barren leads applause for Chef Preston!
Chief Barren, Jerry Rubin and Sue Nine sharing stories.
Salute to First Responder Balloons at St. Anne's Mead. Drive by and you will see these beautiful works of art along Twelve Mile!
For more information about St. Anne's Mead, please visit stannesmead.org