SPRUCE PINE — Residents of the Brian Center and Mitchell House were treated to fireworks shows on Thursday, Aug. 20 and Friday, Aug. 21, respectively.
Spruce Pine Police Chief Bill Summerlin, who organized the event, said he was happy to provide a short period of happiness to the senior residents.
“It’s tough times for those folks, especially right now,” Summerlin said. “They’ve got very little to look forward to other than people coming by to visit and they’ve lost that due to this pandemic, so I guess this is our way of giving back.”
Heather Steuer, Director of Care Transitions at the Brian Center, said while they are trying to provide virtual connections to residents, in-person events like the fireworks show help remind residents of the community support they have.
“We’re trying to do things on a daily basis like Zoom calls or FaceTiming or even Facebook and that’s been really helpful to an extent, but we really saw the impact that parade had back in May,” she said. “It’s just another thing that’s out of the ordinary and makes the day a little special.”
Because they work in a nursing home, Steuer said a majority of the staff have been abiding very carefully to social distancing guidelines and not socializing or travelling outside of work. She said events like the fireworks aren’t just supporting the residents, but also the staff.
“It means so much to have this support from the community, because it’s a reminder to not just the residents, but the staff, too, that we’re not forgotten,” she said.
Tennille Garofalo, executive director at Mitchell House, echoed Steuer's sentiments.
"It literally means everything," Garofalo said. "This event helped show our residents and our staff that the community has their back, the Spruce Pine community surrounding us is supporting us throughout this pandemic, and that means so much to every one of us here at Mitchell House."
Summerlin said he raised more than $800 from the community to fund the event.
“I can’t remember all of the folks who donated, but I just want to say thanks so much to them,” he said. “It’s wonderful what they did.”
Summerlin said he bought $500-worth of fireworks in Bluffton, TN, and used the rest of the funds to provide free ice cream for residents from Fire & Ice Snowballs & Ice Cream.
Summerlin got help from Mineral City Oil to set off the fireworks.
As long as community support persists, Summerlin said he plans to continue to provide events for residents at both facilities to bring some joy.
“We had a good time and if I offended anybody, I’m not sorry,” he said. “These people need our help and need our support, so we gotta keep giving that to them.”
Summerlin said he hopes to have a car show for residents next month, but if anyone has other ideas, he’s all ears.
“If anybody has any ideas for something there, I’d love to hear them,” he said. “I want to keep supporting these people. It can’t just be a one and done. They need continuous support.”