As proclaimed by President Barack Obama, we are currently in the midst of National Volunteer Week.

The week is used as a means to celebrate the crucial role of volunteers across our country, and especially in our smaller communities, where Adair & Guthrie County Emergency Management Coordinator Bob Kempf says they make a particularly vital impact.

“We’re very limited in our population and I mean, ‘neighbors helping neighbors’ is the original form of volunteerism.  You know, we’ve got volunteers that are helping in organizations all throughout our communities… in our schools, in our Fire and EMS associations, people doing fundraisers.  We’ve got the cancer associations and things like that, that is all a part of volunteerism.”

Kempf himself is still a volunteer firefighter and EMT, and speaking on behalf of all the volunteers in our local communities, he has some advice for area residents.

“It’s important for all of the citizens to step forward and thank those people.  You know, no matter what organization you’re involved, even if it is not through Emergency Management, this is a time to step up and say ‘thanks’ to all of those volunteers throughout our communities and our counties.”

To hear more discussion about volunteerism, tune-in to tomorrow’s Let’s Talk Guthrie County for our full conversation with Kempf during the 9am, noon and 5pm hours.