Diane and I attended the Murrieta City Council meeting this evening for the presentation of their proclamation honoring Dick Deboer. I had previously contacted Murrieta City Hall and was granted a few minutes to speak at the meeting, in brother Dick's behalf.
Dick Deboer was the first EMT type person to attend Dick following his crash. He happened to be shopping at the local mall when he saw the plane going down and drove over to see if he could help. At the accident site he recognized a potential neck injury and stabilized his neck until the Murrieta EMT team arrived. It was easy to recognize Dick - he was there with his wife, twin daughters and parents and we were able to introduce ourselves prior to the start of the meeting.
The presentation was well done. The mayor invited myself, Dick Deboer and the Murrieta Chief of Police up to the podium as a group. On the wall above the podium they had projected a huge photograph taken at the scene of the accident which I had not seen before. It showed brother Dick lying on the ground beside the plane with Dick Deboer tending to him. The chief of Police read the proclamation and after a round of applause I was asked to say a few words. After thanking the City Council for the opportunity to express our appreciation I briefly reviewed the events which have transpired from then till now and then read the message which brother Dick had composed (also attached). It was an emotional effort for me and I choked up several times.
Dick Deboer also spoke a little saying how glad he was that he was able to help and how fortunate he was able to be at the right place at the right time. He also indicated that he was glad that Debbie had contacted him so he was able to keep up on Dick's progress. It turns out that EMT type personnel rarely get any feedback from the people attend. He was also appreciative of the blog which Debbie started and is looking forward to Dick's comments when he becomes the blogmaster.
We spoke briefly with the Deboer group outside following the meeting. Nice family. We agreed to stay in touch and all get together with Dick and Debbie as soon as Dick was well enough to do so.
Dad, or Uncle Bob, or Bob Hein - depending
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