12-03-2024 5:50am

Seeking Food Donations and Volunteers for 11th Annual Food Responders Dinner

Chris Edwards Editor

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 11th 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 and others. 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 11th anniversary edition the best ever!

Details per Chez are below...

"11th ANNUAL, 1st RESPONDER, CHRISTMAS EVE DINNER!!!!

(Menu & instructions for how to help below)

Hey peeps! Yes, it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas, so while you're still recovering from your Thanksgiving feast, take a moment to think about what our 1st Responders had for dinner on Thursday. Think about this, last year we fed about 160ish folks that are all “on-duty”, watching our backs. So, we want to show them our appreciation on Christmas Eve.

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. Simply put, we ask the community to help set up a huge potluck style dinner for the guys and gals that are covering our butts if a turkey blows up, a tree catches fire, or your brother in law gets hammered and decides to start a fight.

In past years we’ve fed the on duty: Alamo PD & FD, Sheriff's Dept, AMR ambulance service, Border Patrol, all their dispatchers, the Deputies at the Jail, and even the Airman on duty on Holloman (that’s about 40 alone). AND we still take a giant amount of leftovers to COPE & the ER when dinner is done. Basically we feed over 160 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 the). There's pretty much no such thing as too much stuff AND THERE'S ABSOLUTELY NO SUCH THING AS TOO MUCH DESSERT!!

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 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 of the 3 areas, we’ll be happy to have you!

The evil plan is simple, pick ONE item off the list below and message me what you’d like to make or just pick up at a grocery store. DO NOT feel that YOU have to make 2 items for them, the idea is for many people to do a little, not a few to do a lot, and if we don’t quite get what we need on the list by a day or two before, I'll re-post and let you know. EVERY LITTLE BIT HELPS!

Then on Christmas Eve (24 Dec) drop it off, hot and ready, at the Desert Hills Church of Christ, 1900 23rd St, 88310, between 4-6 pm. We really can't go pick it up from you except in exceptional cases and we can't take anything the day before because 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 leftovers we always have, and we're done!

That's it. Now it's your turn, 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 the "Otero 1st Responders Christmas Dinner" Page

Here’s the list of what we are looking for at least:

6 Turkeys-

4 Hams- 1 promised!

4 Brisket-

4 dozenTamales-

2 pan-Mac & Cheese-1 promised!

3-4 pans of Enchiladas-

2 pans-Lasagna-

Sides:

12 dz rolls-

1-pan Cornbread-

4 pans Stuffing-

4 batches of Mashed potatoes-

6 batches Gravy-

1-2 Green bean casseroles-

4 cans of Cranberry sauce-

1-Corn casserole-

1-Corn Bread Dressing-

3-Veggie side dishes-

1-Pinto Beans-1 promised!

3-Macaroni salad-

2 Potato salad-

1-Pasta Salad-

For these next items, feel free to just go to Walmart or Lowe’s or Albertson’s and get these from them. No one needs to make a cake for this dinner, unless you’re a baker…

6 dz-Cupcakes-

7-8 pies-

1-banana pudding-

4-6-Cakes- 1 promised!

10 dz-Cookies-

And anything else we can put out, eat like hogs and clean up easily. Of course, if you have any other Christmas tradition type meal/side dish, etc... plz 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 3:30-6pm, serve 3:30-9pm, and cleanup 9-10pm. The cleanup crew also helps us take the leftovers to COPE and the ER.

15 volunteers-4 signed up!

That should be it. Check out a video from last year! https://www.facebook.com/share/v/15PwZ2dMDN/?mibextid=WC7FNe

Please help us get the word out! This only works with the full support of this great community!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

- Paul Chez Sanchez

To participate IM Chez vis his page https://www.facebook.com/share/19WRuZusTm/?mibextid=WC7FNe

or Call Chez number 575-415-0524

Be sure to tell him you are an AlamogordoTownNews.org reader and support first responders! Thanks lets make this the biggest success ever again this year!