Volunteers and Donors Needed for the 10th ANNUAL 1st RESPONDERS CHRISTMAS DINNER 2023

The AlamogordoTownNews.com staff helped spread the word last year to a huge success and let’s do it again!!!!

We met up with the 10th Annual, 1st Responder Christmas Eve Dinner Co-Chair and Community Leader, Paul (Chez) Sanchez to learn the history or backstory of the 1st Responders Christmas Eve Dinner held annually. 

Chez explained he again is co-chairing this annual event again with Patriot Guard Riders State Captain and Deacon, Jim Ernst. Also key in supporting and assisting, again this year is Patriot Guard Ride Captain, Rich Merrick. Our Alamogordo and Otero County community is asked to help join by donating food items and to assist. This year more than ever we want to bring a hot meal and holiday cheer to those that serve us during the holiday. Let’s all join together like we did last year and make this 10th anniversary edition the best ever!

Rich Merrick, Jim Ernst and Chez hosts of the 10th annual First Responders Dinner Dec 24th! Please help donate!

Per Chez, “we ask the community to help set up a huge potluck style dinner for the guys and gals that are covering our butts on Christmas Eve.” All said with a huge smile, the Chez way, of course.

Per Chez, ”Happy Thanksgiving and all that stuff. I hope all of you are settled in and working thru your turkey/tryptophan coma. Please take a moment to realize that while you were enjoying your family, friends, and a huge amount of great food, there were 1st Responders all over our county, on duty, and out there to protect us. They didn’t get that huge dinner, but I’m sure that they did save lives, ‘cause that’s what they do…❤️❤️❤️

So, we’re gonna do our thank you dinner again! Since 2012, several of us here in the community have got together to make a hot Christmas style dinner for those 1st Responders on duty on Christmas Eve. In past years we’ve fed the on duty: Alamo PD & FD, Sheriff's Dept, AMR ambulance service, Border Patrol, State Police, & all their dispatchers. This year we’re adding on the Police & Fire Dept’s on Holloman AFB. And we still take a giant amount of leftovers to COPE & the ER when dinner is done. Basically, we feed about 100+ folks, most have seconds & 3rds (trust me, you haven't seen someone eat until you've seen those Fire dudes working on their 3rd helping 😉). There's pretty much no such thing as too much stuff AND THERE'S ABSOLUTELY NO SUCH THING AS TOO MUCH DESSERT!! If you can donate a dish (even a simple cake from Walmart helps a ton), or help serve this year, please go to the Otero County Fire/EMS Appreciation Page (link below) for all the details.

Mark the date on your calendar, Christmas Eve, 24 Dec (a Sunday night this year). Each year our on-duty 1st Responders really look forward to this meal, let’s make it a special night where we thank those that are there for us every time!

The evil plan is simple, pick ONE item off the list below and post below or message me what you're going to make or do. Do not feel that you have to make 2 hams for them, trust me, we'll get plenty of volunteers and donations, and if we didn't quite get what we need on the list by a day or two before, I'll re-post and let you know.

Then on Christmas Eve (24 Dec) drop it off, hot and ready, at the Desert Hills Church of Christ between 4-6 pm. If you can stay and help set up, eat with everyone, and clean up, great. If not, thank you for your donation! Unfortunately, we can’t go pick it up from you as we have no place to store it.

Then we start dinner at 6pm sharp and clean up at 9:30. Then it's off to COPE & the ER with the large amount of leftovers we always have and we're done!

This is what we need to get 'er done: EVERYTHING. The great folks at the Desert Hills Church of Christ provide their fellowship room & kitchen, we bring the rest. If you can pitch in, PLEASE MESSAGE ME ON THE OTERO COUNTY FIRE/EMS APPRECIATION PAGE with what you'd like to bring. We'll also need folks to help set up, serve food, and clean up, you can sign up to help in any or all the 3 areas, we’ll be happy to have you! Set-up begins at 4pm, service from 6-9pm, and clean up from 9-10pm.

The menu we’re looking for, please select one item from this list and let us know what you want to bring. By everyone pitching in one dish each, we’ll have a silly amount of food to feed everyone.

4 Turkeys
4 Hams
4 Brisket
4 dz Tamales
1 pan-Mac & Cheese
3-4 pans of Enchiladas
2 pans-Lasagna

Sides:

4 dz rolls
4 pans Stuffing
4 batches of Mashed potatoes
1-2 Green bean casseroles
A few cans of Cranberry sauce
Corn
Veggie side dish
Macaroni salad
Potato salad

Dessert:

Cupcakes
6 pies
4 Cakes
6 dz Cookies

And any other traditional Christmas dinner your family makes. Trust me, it will all get eaten!

That's it. Now it's your turn, please post your donation below, or if you can come out and help. This post will be shared, so PLEASE make sure that the word gets back to me (Paul Chez Sanchez) about anyone pitching in. You can always message me on "Otero Fire/EMS Appreciation Page".

Happy Thanksgiving, Merry Christmas, and a joyous Holiday Season to all! Be smart, be safe, be well, and may God bless us, our local heroes, our troops far away from home, and of course, bless these United States of America!

You can refer folks to this page to let them know what’s up: via Facebook and 
If your not Facebook savvy or confident or rather like a direct connect, you can text Chez at (575) 415-0524 or call but he prefers a text or IM through the Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/OteroFireEMSAppreciation

First Responders Dinner Christmas Eve 2023

A bit of history…

The First Responders Christmas Dinner event began in 2012. Chez lived near the police and fire station and asked the first responders what they were doing for dinner Thanksgiving? They told him that they covered, and he thought back to his military days when several of the “on duty” staff ended up having a snickers bar and chips from the convenience machines on Christmas Eve.

He then stepped into action mode. In partnership with Jim Ernst, Chez began with the Alamogordo Fire Department and hosted the first Christmas Eve Dinner at the main fire station for the Fire, Police Officers and Dispatchers. The second or third year they expanded the invite list to include the Sheriff’s Department due to the huge outpouring of food from community members. The next year they expanded it even further to include the Border Patrol Officers and the Ambulance staff. Now even the on-duty State Police Officers join into the affair anyone that is a first responder and providing service to our community!

“This is not a political event or an event where the Chiefs and leaders come in, but this is a grassroots community sponsored Christmas Eve dinner hosted at the facility of the Desert Hills Church of Christ and is open to all the hard working first responder guys and ladies on duty that are protecting us and keeping us safe on Christmas Eve,” said Chez.

Of course, if you have any other Christmas tradition type meal/side dish, etc... please toss it in the pot! PLEASE put your personal dishes in disposable containers, sorting out who's dishes are whose is not fun...

The help for the dinner is just to set up and cleanup. The cleanup crew also helps us take the leftovers to COPE and the ER.

Set up is from 4pm to about 6:30pm.

Clean up begins about 9pm and we’re usually done with the deliveries by 10-10:30.

A few past volunteers at the First Responders Dinner

The Alamogordo community is a giving and sharing community. KALH Radio and AlamogordoTownNews.com encourages the community to support Chez and Jim and let’s make this the best 1st Responder Christmas Eve Dinner yet and show our community support and pride for our 1st
Responders.

This is the 10th Annual event and AlamogordoTownNews readers and community partners are asked to again step up in holiday cheer!

What Chez and Jim need is volunteers and food for the evening as per above! Let’s do this!

The great team of folks at the Desert Hills Church of Christ provide their fellowship room & kitchen, and the community sponsors bring the rest. Now it is up to you! Contact Chez early and let’s do this! And of course have a merry Christmas season!

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