Breaking Bread and Saying “Thank You”
Julie Blissett (center), Mayor Deloach (right)
In true Savannah hospitality, the city came together earlier this week to say thank you to the more than 400 service members who helped organize and conduct Operation Empower Health – Greater Savannah: Innovative Readiness Training program.
The program, which deploys troops to cities so they can set up resources and clinics in order to provide no-cost healthcare to the public, allows the troops to train and refine their skills to remain deployment-ready.
There were more than 700 people in attendance at the thank you party, Savannah Salutes, but thanks to Savannah River Boat Cruises and Jalapeños, there was enough food for thousands of people.
The event came together in a matter of days, with a majority of the 42 restaurants and organizations joining during the eleventh hour.
“The whole point was to say, ‘The city really cares about you,” says Julie Blissett, mission training officer in charge, who helped organize the event. “We wanted to say thank you and that we will always welcome you back.”
Saying thank you was necessary for the incredible service they provided to the Savannah community. Operation Empower Health – Greater Savannah: Innovative Readiness Training program deploys troops to cities, where they then set up resources and clinics in order to provide no-cost healthcare to the public, while the troops train and refine their skills to remain deployment-ready. Nearly 8,000 patients were seen throughout the event, with more than $4.5 million worth of procedures were completed.
Breaking bread, Blissett explains, is the least they could do to say thank you to the folks that serve us.
“Our goal was to create an event that was memorable and represented the endless support that Savannah has to offer,” Blissett says.
