Achord sisters to receive award for their volunteer work during 403 fire

Cindy Pitts, whose animals received their generous volunteer time and devotion, told the ALA Unit 1980 of their selfless efforts. Her written statement is included with this release:

Mina and Eva unloaded animals, put them in corrals, gave food and water to them, as well as shoveled manure and cleaned the corrals. They took care of many of those animals over the course of the animals being evacuated. They were there every day, and made sure each animal was brushed, fed, watered, kept in a clean environment, and gave them individual attention, including talking to them.

The 403 Fire started on March 30. The young ladies grabbed materials to help the animals, as well as notebook and pen so they could log the animals being brought in, their names and their owners.      

The animals had been evacuated to the Lake George Arena. The ladies took care of these animals over four days.     This is the third fire the youth have chosen to do this. Mina never complained, all she wanted was the owners to know they did not need to worry about their animals.     Eva said, “This is a small part of how I can help the community and the families during an emergency.” 

Eva loved getting to know the animals and easing the owners’ minds.

The National American Legion Auxiliary provides awards to youth for Heroism and Good Deeds. There is an application that is filled out and sponsored by an American Legion Auxiliary Unit. It is then sent to the Department (State Office) to be approved or disapproved. It is then sent to the National office. 

If the application is accepted, National sends a letter to each recipient and a certificate to the Unit to present to the Awardees. Unit 1980 gives the families the choice of where the award is presented, and the Achords chose to have it done at their school award program.

Cynthia Sipes chairs the Hero/Good Deed Program for Unit 1980. 

She stated, “We love that the young ladies wanted to be presented at their school. The purpose of these awards is to honor the youth who go out of their way and show, by example, that no matter your age, you can be of help, support and participate in being a part of the community. What really touches your heart is when these young people do it on their own and from their heart. They didn’t know about this award; they only knew they wanted to help both the people in their community and the animals. No matter how small, or how restricted we are in our lives, we can always find away to help, support, promote, or care about our community and the people in it.”

Any citizens interested in attending the award ceremony, please contact American Legion Auxiliary Unit 1980.