Tracy Leturgey

Butler County’s unsung heroes are about to receive some well-deserved recognition.

“Our first responders are amazing individuals, and we need to let them know that,” said Jack Cohen, governor of Rotary International District 7280. “They leave for their day and say goodbye to their family, and they don’t know if they’re coming home.”

With the help of Butler County’s nine Rotary Clubs, the 2024 Can-Am Police-Fire Games, Salute Home Loans and the Butler Eagle, Butler County’s first responders will be honored at a Hometown Hero Awards dinner Sept. 30 at Tesla BioHealing & MedBed Center on Route 8.

Nominations, made by family, friends and the public, for the event are taking place. The nominations will be collected by the Butler Eagle and distributed to Rotary clubs within the county based on the region where the first responders serve.

Each Rotary Club will select their top three nominees, who will be invited to the dinner in September.

“We are excited to have this opportunity to honor our first responders,” said Tammy Schuey, Butler Eagle general manager. “As an organization that documents the work of the first responders, I think it’s important for us to really take this opportunity to recognize them.”

Cohen said about 27 to 30 first responders selected by the Rotary Clubs will be invited to the event, with the top three being honored with awards.

Police, firefighters and EMT workers are eligible to be nominated.

“Everything we do in Rotary is service above self,” Cohen said. “That’s what these (first responders) do. They put their lives on the line, and we just go about our business. At the end of the day, these folks don’t get the recognition they deserve.”

Many logistics of the event are still being planned, according to Cohen, but he said the evening will be a proper fit for those who put others before themselves.

“It’s being planned now,” Cohen said. “It’s going to be something special. They deserve it.”

The idea for the event came from Sam Royer, president of Salute Home Loans.

Royer, a Marine Corps veteran who has been doing mortgage banking for more than 20 years, said he brought the idea to Butler County Sheriff Michael Slupe, who shared it with Cohen and others in the community.

“Every year on Nov. 10 is the Marine Corps’ birthday,” Royer said. “That is a day Marines come together and celebrate being Marines. We kind of went under that assumption. These individuals are teachers, firefighters, police officers, and they don’t always get recognized together. That’s why we wanted to bring this event together.”

Slupe said Royer’s excitement about the event is “contagious.”

“The fact that he picked Butler County to have a recognition event is a great honor, because it takes a lot of planning to make this happen,” Slupe said. “I’m thankful for the Rotary and Jack Cohen who is taking this project on and having the countywide Rotary Clubs participate and nominate.”

Slupe also said if the event goes well, he is hopeful it could continue in the future.

“We have a lot of great first responders,” Slupe said. “They are unsung heroes. To have an event like this to thank them and recognize them I think is a true morale booster for everyone. They are overworked, underpaid or not paid at all. This is just a great program, and they get to come in and have a nice dinner.”

Additional details about the dinner will be released in coming months, Cohen said.

“That night will not be a sales-pitch night,” Royer said. “This is not a night for people to have their bling all over the table. This is just a night where the community just comes together and says thanks.”

The nomination deadline is April 1. Nominations can be mailed to P.O. Box 271 Butler PA 16003 or online at form.butlereagle.com.