Richmond County’s Rotary Club district will host a variety of events over the next 10 months aimed to honor first responders in emergency medical services, law enforcement and fire service.

“Some clubs are already planning events to honor first responders and we are encouraging all 59 clubs in our district to do so,” said District Governor Ineke Wilson, whose Rotary District 7680 includes 59 clubs in 14 counties. “Our law enforcement, firefighters and emergency medical personnel do a superb job of responding to all types of emergencies, sometimes putting their own lives in danger. They deserve to be recognized for their service. Often, ordinary citizens are the first responders at fires, vehicle wrecks and other accidents and should be recognized as well.”

Clubs may also nominate first responders to be considered for the district’s “First Responder of the Year” award. All the nominees will be celebrated at a district-wide event in 2016.

“To our knowledge, District 7680 is the first to hold this type of district-wide recognition for first responders,” Wilson said in a release. “They certainly deserve the recognition and we think it is a worthwhile program in our communities.”

Rotary District 7680 includes the following counties and the number in parenthesis indicates the number of Rotary Clubs in the county: Alexander County (1), Alleghany County (1), Anson County (1), Ashe County (1), Cabarrus County (5), Cleveland County (4), Gaston County (7), Iredell County (6), Mecklenburg County (16), Richmond County (2), Rowan County (2), Stanly County (2), Union County (5), and Wilkes County (1).