Community members of all ages gathered on Aug. 2, for National Night Out in the parking lot of Lake Oconee Presbyterian Church, where local public-service entities and professionals who respond to emergency situations gathered to introduce themselves, answer questions and address concerns.
Participants included the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office, Putnam County EMS, Putnam County Fire Department, Putnam County Hospital, and Lake Oconee Water Patrol.
These valued services brought several of their specialized vehicles and equipment to demonstrate and explain how they do their jobs.
The organizer and sponsor of the event were the Sebastian Cove Homeowners Association, with Thunder Valley Owners Association providing additional support and Wing Maxx donating food for the first responders in attendance.
Meanwhile, the organizing committee provided hot dogs, chips and bottled water for community residents, while Kona Ice was on hand selling flavored, shaved ice to help beat the heat.
The history of National Night Out began in the western suburbs of Philadelphia, where founder Matt Peskin spent several years volunteering for the Lower Merion Community Watch program and a few years later established a National Association of Town Watch.
In August 1984, the inaugural National Night Out involved 2.5 million neighbors across 400 communities in 23 states.
Currently, 16,000 communities across the nation observe the event annually on the first Tuesday in August, with Texas and a few other areas celebrating the first Tuesday in October.
Putnam County’s first National Night Out was held last August at the suggestion of Sebastian Cove resident Paul Knudsen.
This year’s event also included Thunder Valley, Stonegate, Blue Heron, and Lakeview Senior Gardens communities, in addition to the Lake Oconee Presbyterian Church congregation.
“The purpose and the mission of the National Night Out is to bring communities together, to interact with their emergency service people,” said Knudsen.
“It’s an excellent opportunity, particularly for kids and young adults, to interact early in their life with the people who serve and protect us in emergencies. After meeting them in person there is a greater level of comfort going forward through life and working with those people when needed.
“For adults, it’s a great opportunity to express any concerns about things going on in the community and talk about what we can do to make our environment better and safer.”
Local resident Patti Williams said she appreciated the opportunity to meet some local responders and thank them for their service.
“There are three ambulances in our county,” added Victoria Harvey. “This is very interesting to know, and we appreciate them having an event.”
A star of the show was Putnam County’s brand-new aerial ladder truck, able to disperse more than a thousand gallons of water per minute from a pair of nozzles mounted at the end of its 100-foot boom.
“It’s quite impressive,” Gene Williams observed.
Also on display and demonstrated at the event was the mobile command center used by the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office.
“If we have a disaster or crime anywhere, we can pull up to it, set it up, and have radio contact with emergency personnel phone service. We have Wi-Fi and a conference room to discuss what’s going on or look at blueprints,” Sgt. Bob Rogers explained.
The command center also includes a sleeping area for two people, a bathroom, a refrigerator and a coffee maker.
“You could live in it,” Rogers said. “It’s like a camper.”
Originally from Minnesota, local organizer Knudsen moved to Georgia’s Lake Country 15 years ago.
“We held events in Minnesota for a number of years,” he said. “Our homeowner’s association (at Lake Oconee) was looking for a means to introduce us to people and get to know each other. I came up with this idea and said it would serve a dual purpose: it’s a chance for people to meet and greet each other in our neighborhood, as well as to interact with the people that provide a really valuable service to us.
“I hope to expand [the event] even bigger next year and include a greater segment of the community in Putnam County,” Knudsen said.