Fairfield’s Maasdam Barns to host second First Responders Appreciation Picnic

FAIRFIELD — The second annual First Responders Appreciation Picnic will be held this Saturday, July 15 at Maasdam Barns in Fairfield.

The Jefferson County Pork Producers and Jefferson County Cattlemen will be serving food from 4-7 p.m. Apart from a selection of meat dishes, meals will come with chips, cookies and water. Donations from the event will go toward first responders in Jefferson County. The Fairfield All-Star Jazz Band will perform from 4-5 p.m.

Lee Dimmitt, one of the organizers of the event and the person who started it last year, said this year’s event will have something new, a dunk tank.

“We’ll have a bucket out for donations, but we won’t charge for the right to throw,” Dimmitt said. “Everything is free. The food is free, and not just for our first responders but for everyone. I don’t want people to feel they have to put money in the bucket at any time.”

Just like last year, representatives from local first responder organizations will be on hand to greet the public. Dimmitt said one of the things he hopes to accomplish at the event is for residents to get to know first-responders in a non-emergency setting. Law enforcement officers plan to have a K-9 unit there, too.

Dimmitt said last year’s event raised $1,200, and he’s hoping to match that this year. Several local dignitaries have been invited to attend such as Iowa Sen. Adrian Dickey, Iowa Reps. Jeff Shipley and Helena Hayes, and U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks.

“This is not a political event, and I don’t expect them to do any speaking,” Dimmitt said about the elected officials coming. “We just want people to come and meet our first responders.”

The committee that plans the picnic consists of six people including Dimmitt, Leon Connelly from Maasdam Barns, Mendy McAdams from the Fairfield Area Chamber of Commerce, and a representative from Jefferson County Farm Bureau, Jefferson County Cattlemen and Jefferson County Pork Producers. Farm Bureau has given the largest donation two years in a row. The event is made possible by sponsoring businesses such as Pilot Grove Savings Bank, Libertyville Savings Bank, MidWestOne Bank, 1st Community Credit Union and Washington State Bank.

Call Andy Hallman at 641-575-0135 or email him at andy.hallman@southeastiowaunion.com