SIOUX FALLS S.D. (KELO) — A first responder is a person who has specialized training and is among the first to arrive when there’s an emergency.
They are often referred to as unsung heroes, but some students at Southeast Technical College are using their own specialized training to let them know how much they are all appreciated.
“We’ve been working on this for a little over a month,
Welding students at Southeast Tech have sparked a special bond with first responders.
They’ve teamed up with the auto collision repair class to fabricate American flags from sheet metal.
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“Every year we try to give something back, last year we cut a couple of flags for the sheriff’s office and that’s kind of how this got built up,” welding instructor Dennis Howard said.
It takes cooperation and teamwork.
“Kind of a tricky thing getting all the people together like painting and grinding them out making sure they are smooth it’s kind of a challenge,” welding student Tom Pingle said.
When they are all done cutting this is what the flag looks like when it leaves the welding class. They really come to life when they get to the auto collision repair class.
“We were able to go down and talk with the paint instructor, we got this little project we are trying to give back to the community would you guys like to be involved,” Howard said.
They didn’t hesitate to get involved.
“There’s a big difference seeing our product of how it was cut out and then when it came back everybody in there was like oh this just upped the level of it 100 fold basically we were all excited I mean I’m getting goosebumps right now just talking about it,” Pingel said.
This is why he gets goosebumps.
These painted war torn American flags made of metal will be presented to first responders tomorrow. Police, fire fighters, emts and more will each get one of these flags.
“I honestly think when they first see them, they are going to be really impressed with them,” Howard said.
It took a lot of work from both classes.
Howard can’t say enough about the cutting and the paint job.
“I think they knocked it out of the park,” Howard said.
They made a total of 16 metal flags.
They’ll present them to the first responders Tuesday morning.
