Elks feed hundreds of first responders
The Cameron Elks Lodge served more than 100 area first responders as a way to give back in a time of great need.
With first responders dealing with COVID-19 and unrest throughout the Kansas City metro, the Cameron Elks reached out to area police, paramedics and firefighters to see if they could make one aspect of their day - lunch - a little easier.
“Today, it’s so much more than ever, communities need to appreciate their services from every aspect whether it’s law enforcement, fire departments, ambulance services. In smaller communities like ours, they play a big part. We just wanted to show our appreciation,” Elks Lodge Member Roger Foreman said. “We were very fortunate. We had some people from Kansas City here for the weekend for a barbecue competition. Some of those individuals started cooking ribs last night and finished up this morning. We were fortunate and very grateful for their help.”
Last spring, with the Kansas City Police Department embroiled in the ongoing protests and working round the clock to combat a second wave of COVID-19, the local Elks spent days preparing the meal as their way of giving back to those who have given so much in recent weeks. Although protests continue in Kansas City, they have yet to reach rural Missouri, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases skyrocketed in the past few weeks across rural Northwest Missouri and area police, paramedics and firefighters are the first to respond in the case of a COVID-19 related emergency.
“It was just a way we can give back and say thanks. They’re under a lot more stress than they normally would be,” Elks Member Charlie Carroll said. “… It’s what we do. Charles Adamson, from [First Cameron State Bank], after we fed the Kansas City Police Department, said ‘Charlie, why can’t we do something locally here in the Cameron four-county area?’”
Carroll said volunteers, as well as a few contestants from the Kansas City Barbecue Society contest relocated to Cameron from Kemper Arena due to COVID-19 restrictions, donated their time, effort and materials to make the event possible. He added sponsors such as Farmers State Bank, Bank Midwest and many others also made donations, which lessoned the financial hardship for the Elks.
“We have people coming from Pattonsburg, Gallatin, Kingston, Maysville, Stewartsville, Plattsburg. Word of mouth got out,” Carroll said. “… We have enough to serve 250 people and I hope we run out. We had a good response out of every department. Anything we can do to help their day or week, they’re very appreciative. We’ve gotten a lot of complements … It’s just what we do.”
