The Knights of Columbus, Council 10901 at St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church, cooked up catfish and hushpuppies and delivered enough for about 100 of Oxford and Lafayette County’s first responders at Fire House No. 1 in Oxford over the weekend.

On- and off-duty firemen, police officers and sheriff’s deputies were invited to a catfish dinner on Saturday night courtesy of the Knights. 

Basil Richmond, coordinator for the event, said “The Knights wanted to show our appreciation to these dedicated men and women who are on duty 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year. It’s difficult to express our gratitude for the work the men and women of our fire, police and sheriff’s office do for all of us. The Knights cook for a lot of events, and our specialty is a catfish dinner. Why not treat them to a catfish dinner on a Saturday night while the rest of us are enjoying the weekend?” 

It only took six Knights to get the meal ready to go and delivered to the firehouse that evening.

The Knights said firefighters helped unload the food and set it up in the kitchen, the call went out, “the fish is here.”  After a blessing of the food with a request to look after their families, the catfish and hushpuppies began to disappear.

This is a great thing for a nonprofit to do for our first responders and we applaud their efforts.

Often first responders, veterans and others who lead our nation in service are recognized over the holiday weekends and designated dates like Memorial Day, Veterans Day and the annual remembrance of Sept. 11, 2001. All attention is on giving them a free meal and thanking them, but there are other days of the year.

We encourage other groups to follow the lead of the Knights of Columbus and to do something for the first responders who take care of us.

But let’s not stop there. In addition to policemen and firemen and EMTs who put their lives on the line in service for their job, there are countless volunteers in the Lafayette-Oxford-University area who don’t get paid for service to our fellow man. While they aren’t necessarily putting their lives on the line, they are giving selflessly of their precious time. If you’re a nonprofit, consider a special volunteer day designated to honor and celebrate and feed your volunteers.