It’s Monday, October 29 today and yet I’m writing about something that happened on Saturday, October 6. I should have written about our annual Police & Fire Open House back then, but I misfiled my photos of the event and moved on to other things. But I found the photos this morning, so we’ll take a short trip back into the past.
It was a beautiful autumn morning on Saturday, October 6. There was a chill in the air, but only a wisp of clouds in the sky. It was a perfect day for our annual Police & Fire Open House. We do this annual event for a couple of reasons. We want residents to feel comfortable around our public safety people and equipment. We know from our 2006 Quality of Life Survey, and from plenty of anecdotal experience, that the more residents come into direct contact with city employees, the more they trust them and the more confidence they have in their competency. This event provides a forum for contact with our residents that is second to none.
Another reason we organize and present an Open House is because it provides an opportunity for internal team building and staff development. This is a complex event. It takes a lot of planning and good team work for it to come off the way the way it does. Those are important skills to build in a Police Department and Fire Department. The event also requires these two departments to work together. Cooperation and teamwork between our Police and Fire Departments is an important part of our public safety culture in Eden Prairie. This event helps to reinforce that.
The most obvious reason for the event, however, is: The Kids. It’s a lot of fun to be around kids at this event. They have a great time meeting McGruff, shooting a fire fire hose, sitting in a Police squad car and, of course, “driving” the Fire Truck.
Hats off to our Police and Fire employees for a great Open House. A good time was had by all.
