There was a strong crowd in attendance for the annual Marion County Public Safety Night held Sunday at the Marion County Fairground. The evening which is dedicated to honoring those who protect the citizens of Marion County was filled with a large fleet of public safety vehicles on display from many different departments in the county, department demonstrations, air med, face painting and inflatables, a fire safety house, food, an award ceremony and more. Those who were honored with awards were Michelle Kingery with the Marion County Sheriff’s Office as dispatcher of the year, Steven Watson with the Indiana Township Fire Department as firefighter of the year, Reid Taylor with Pella EMS as EMS person of the year, and Joe Weppler with the Knoxville Police Department as officer of the year.
Emily Feagins with Marion County Emergency Management says this is a great event to build relationships with those who hold vital roles in the county. “It’s huge. Just getting to be here and talk with all of the first responders and persons, seeing them when it’s not a 911 emergency, building those relationships prior to the event that could be the worst day of your life is super important.
They did an amazing day with demonstrations. Dinky Donuts was a huge hit. Cattlemans food is always amazing.
It was definitely a great night and beautiful weather.” Attendees got to see the air med helicopter take off at the start of the event..
