Since its inception in 2016, the City of Westlake has embraced first responders. On Tuesday, Sept. 29, there were more handshakes and hugs for members of Palm Beach County Fire-Rescue Station 22 as the community came together to present the gift of a handcrafted dining table with room enough for an entire firehouse shift.
“Some people think it’s just a table, but it’s more than that,” said Battalion 2 Chief Jose Garcia, who was on hand for the unveiling. “It’s the station’s central hub.”
“It’s also where we solve all the world’s problems,” added Garcia, smiling as he viewed the lacquered yellow pine table with room for 14.
“We’re definitely thankful,” said Robert Barry, one of three shift captains at Station 22. “A lot of important conversations happen around a firehouse table. It’s a big part of the station itself.”
Westlake Mayor JohnPaul O’Connor got the ball rolling after running into a member of Station 22 at a concert. He asked if there was anything the city could do for the crew. He was told that a table big enough to seat an entire shift would be morale-booster.
“I could have gone to the city council, and I’m sure we would have stroked a check for it with no problem,” said O’Connor, who spoke at the ceremony. “But I wanted it to be a real community effort… Every person I asked was eager to help.”
Dr. Jean Russell of Dental Care at Seminole Ridge paid for the materials; craftsman Jordan San Jose built the table; Anthony Nastase of John Galt Insurance donated 75 custom medallions — also known as “challenge coins” — given to firefighters and those involved in the effort; and Ralph Lewis of Lewis Prime Grill donated enough boneless ribeye for 27 firefighters and paramedics to enjoy as their first meal on the new table.
“I love living and working together with my neighbors,” Russell said. “I really feel an incredible amount of pride.”
San Jose said he constructed the table over several months in his spare time and built it to last, applying a high-traffic clear coat for protection. He said he got involved because he saw it as “a good, community-based cause.”
Lewis and his family have owned the Okeechobee Steakhouse for decades.
“We’ve been part of this county since 1933, and it has been tremendous to us. We believe in giving back,” he said.
And Lewis knows the stresses of being a first responder, with a brother and sister-in-law who are paramedics and a son who is a Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office deputy.
“I think it turned out beautifully,” he said. “They seemed so grateful for it, but I don’t think it was just about the table. It was that we thought of them.”
O’Connor said that the station was already a special place for his young children — Jace Preston and Kennedy Reagan — who enjoy visiting the station at 16650 Town Center Parkway. In May, the station unveiled trucks and rescue units bearing the City of Westlake’s seal.
Now the community funded table bears the firefighting alligator logo of Station 22, known as the “Draft House” for its history drafting water from whatever canal or lake is handy to fight fires in the rural areas surrounding Westlake.
The city and its largest developer and landowner, Minto Communities USA, have programs in place to assist first responders, teachers and other education employees, healthcare personnel, and county and local government personnel in purchasing a home.
The embrace of those professionals often has been called “the secret sauce” that has made Westlake for years the fastest growing municipality in the county and one of the fastest growing in the state.
“When I thought about Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner… and how there wasn’t enough room for these first responders to sit together as a whole crew and enjoy it together, it just broke my heart,” O’Connor said. “I wanted to do something that was truly a community effort to show how much they mean to us. They truly are our hometown heroes… a major part of the fabric of our community.”
