By NEAL WAGNER / City Editor

Twelve years after one of the most devastating attacks on American soil, Pelham businessman David Keough wanted to make sure local police officers and firefighters know they are appreciated by those they serve.

“We just wanted to show them support, and let them know their service does not go unnoticed,” Keough said on the morning of Sept. 11 as he was picking up food from Joe’s Italian in Alabaster.

Keough, a member of the Creek View Elementary School PTO in Alabaster, originally intended to work with volunteers to provide lunch for the school resource officers in Alabaster’s schools in honor of the 9/11 anniversary. But after talking with his business partner, Eddie Keaton, at DEA Home Property Management in Pelham, they decided to honor all first responders in a three-city area.

“We decided it would be a good idea to feed all the police officers and firefighters in the (Alabaster, Helena and Pelham) tri-city area,” Keough said.

Throughout the morning, Keough, Keaton and several volunteers made their rounds to the three cities’ multitude of police departments and fire stations to drop off trays of Joe’s Italian’s homemade lasagna and other items.

Keough, a Rhode Island native, said Sept. 11, 2001, still sticks out in his mind like it was yesterday. Keough and one of his friends, a police officer, were in Florida when the World Trade Center attacks occurred in New York City.

“The first thing he said was ‘I’ve got to get up there and help,’” Keough said of his friend. “But we were stranded down there for several days because there were no flights going out anywhere.”

Today, Keough’s nephew is a firefighter, giving him a more personal appreciation for the danger first responders routinely place themselves in.

“This is not just a passing thing,” Keough said. “A lot of times, we don’t thank police and firefighters for what they do for us day-in and day-out.”