Freedom Walk Honors First Responders

This Sept. 11, the Marine Families of Polk County and the Polk County Veterans Council will honor those first responders with a walk in Central Park in downtown Winter Haven.

The second annual Freedom Walk will take place that evening. Registration starts at 5 p.m. and the walk, led by bagpipes, will begin at 6:45 p.m.

Jamie Brown, president and founder of Marine Families of Polk County, said the event is a combination of remembering and showing support for everyone who serves in Polk County.

‘We still have guys out on the front lines on a daily basis,’ Brown said. ‘It’s not just military personnel, but law enforcement officers, EMTs and firefighters, too.’

There will be no cost to participate in the memorial. The event will include food, entertainment, displays and a ceremony led by city, county and state dignitaries.

The night will conclude with a luminary service scheduled for 7:15 p.m.

In addition to street parking, there will be free parking in city lots at Third Street Southwest at Magnolia Avenue and West Central Avenue at Second Street.

Gary Clark, chairman of the Polk County Veterans Council, said his organization is honored ‘to be able to recognize these folks as comrades in service to the community and the nation.’

The Veterans Council is also going to bring in a mini-boot camp for children as well as military and law enforcement displays as part of its own Patriot Day, going on at the same time in Central Park

Sponsors for the event in addition to the Polk County Veterans Council are the city of Winter Haven, Hands for the Homefront and Main Street Winter Haven Inc.

Brown said 9/11 was ‘a wake-up call’ for the entire country and it is up to everyone to pay tribute to the ones who made sacrifices that day.

‘We, as U.S. citizens, had first responders who gave away everything to go in and rescue those people,’ Brown said. ‘I feel like it’s my duty, not just because my son is a Marine.’

To register for the walk, visit www.MarineFamilies863.org. To secure a luminary for your loved one, call 863-287-5540.