If you’ve ever dreamed of dancing with a firefighter, now is your chance because the Inaugural Public Safety Dinner and Dance is coming up on Saturday, March 23. According to volunteer firefighter Chuck Akers, the event will be a casual affair to give people a chance to just relax, have fun and get to know each other. Mr. Akers says you can count on an outstanding dinner because firefighter Capt. Justin Hazellief and his father, Commissioner David Hazellief, will be cooking the chicken quarters, catfish and prime rib, and Mr. Akers, with help from Don Farris from Lightsey’s Seafood Restaurant, will be cooking the fresh green beans, red potatoes, swamp cabbage (because this is Okeechobee, after all) and yeast rolls.

Tickets for the dinner must be purchased in advance for $25, but it will be well worth it, says Mr. Akers.

They will have a 50/50 raffle, door prizes and music and dancing beginning at 6 p.m. and lasting until 1 a.m. If anyone would like to donate anything to be used as a door prize or to be raffled, or if you would like to purchase tickets, you can call Mr. Akers at 772-260-9026.

All proceeds from the event will go toward purchasing equipment and education materials. In the past, city volunteers have donated a golf cart and county volunteers purchased rescue equipment. All the volunteers are here to support the departments in any way they can, said Mr. Akers.

Dinner will be served by The Florida Rural Counties Community Emergency Response Team. They are a 501(c)(3) formed to serve Okeechobee in ESF15 under Emergency Management Structure. With these volunteers doing the serving and the cleanup, the first responders can just relax and enjoy themselves during the event.

Entertainment will be provided by Traxx Entertainment from Saint Lucie County. They’ve been doing the entertainment for the Firefighters’ Ball for the last five years, and according to Mr. Akers, they do a wonderful job.

All of the first responders are looking forward to having fun with old friends and possibly making some new ones. They want to invite everyone to come out and join in on the fun.