Jonesboro Fire Department To Host Fund Raiser For The Arkansas Fallen Firefighter’s Memorial

The Jonesboro Fire Department Honor Guard and JFD Pipes and Drums are organizing a fund-raiser slated for June 4.

Proceeds are for an Arkansas Fallen Firefighters’ Memorial and tribute wall on the state Capitol grounds.

JFD Capt. Tom Johnson said the half-chicken dinner fund-raiser at Arkansas Police Supply, 5226 East Nettleton Ave., will help raise a portion of the $55,000 needed for the memorial.

Dinners are $15 in advance, and a limited number will be available on June 4 for $20, Johnson said.

“It’s one last push to get it done, and we want to be a part of that,” he said.

According to the memorial’s Web site, 95 percent of the needed funds have been collected.

Johnson said many states recognize firefighters killed in the line of duty, and Arkansas is close to joining those states.

“It’s extremely important, not only to us, but to the state, as well,” he said. “This memorial is going to be used as a tool to remember those who have given the ultimate sacrifice for their cities and state. But it will also be used as an educational tool for the children who go down there to tour the Capitol. The kids and everybody else will be able to tell how serious and committed firefighters are to their communities.”

Johnson said members of the JFD Honor Guard will serve the pre-sold meals. Members of the JFD Pipes and Drums group will also provide entertainment.

“We’re really looking forward to this, and we’re hopeful a lot of folks will come out and hang out with us and listen to the music and support the firefighters’ memorial,” Johnson said.

The meals will include a half-chicken, baked beans, potato salad and bread from 10 a.m. to whenever the last meal is picked up, Johnson said.

Bob Edwards, an advisory board member of the Arkansas Fallen Firefighters’ Memorial and a retired firefighter, said it’s important to finish the project that has been ongoing for years.

“We’ve lost quite a few firefighters in Arkansas over the years, and we’ve never had a place to pay tribute to them,” Edwards said, adding that the memorial’s tribute wall will include the names of every firefighter killed in the line of duty since the 1800s.

Johnson said they’re trying to pre-sell all the dinners to keep costs and waste at a minimum, but he said some dinners will be available the day of the fund-raiser.

To order a meal in advance, call Johnson at 243-4180; firefighter Shannon Adcock, 897-2106; firefighter Landon Russell, 930-5533; or Arkansas Police Supply, 935-6025.