Heroes Weekend - a tribute to those who serve

Sunday the 23rd of November, Bayside Church Woodland is celebrating its annual Heroes Weekend. This it is one of my favorite Sundays of the year. It seems perfect that Heroes Weekend falls between Veteran's day and Thanksgiving. We pay tribute to all those who have served, and are currently serving our nation on Veteran's Day, and we get together a few weeks later to give thanks for all the blessings we enjoy and the special people we share them with. To borrow a line from Lincoln,"It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this."

While many of us know someone serving our nation in uniform, we are more familiar with those who serve and protect us everyday, right here in our community. Our local law enforcement officers, fire fighters, emergency and support personnel are there for us 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

At times its easy to get a little upset at the flashing red light in your mirror, especially the motorcycle officer on Gibson Road who always seems to be there when you are late getting your kids to school. It's hard to be upset with fire fighters, I have yet to be pulled over by anyone in a turnout coat and rubber boots, although they do hog up a few parking spaces at the grocery store. These heroes blend in to the background of our community, and it would be easy to take them for granted. We can forget that at a moments notice, the day to day routine of traffic stops, paperwork and firehouse duty can by shattered by a radio call that could change their lives forever. This is what they do, this is who they are. They respond to crisis situations, and they do with courage and professionalism.

Heroes Weekend celebrates their service at Pioneer High School's theater this Sunday at two services; 9:30 and 11:15. The Woodland Police Department, Yolo County Sheriff's Department, Woodland Fire department, California Highway Patrol as well as community service groups, 911 dispatch operators and all those who served our nation in uniform will be honored. We will also being giving a donation to their favorite charities as a way to say thank you.

A Sunday of great music, a great message and great big thank you. See you there.