A little over four months ago, a group of community-minded residents founded Friends of Sandisfield Fire Department, a nonprofit dedicated to our Fire Department and EMS.

Just days ago, on July 25,FoSFD, the new nonprofit dedicated to our Fire Department and Emergency Medical Services, hosted its first-ever fundraiser, Heart & Soul.

The nonprofit aimed to raise enough money to purchase 15 Automatic External Defibrillators (AEDs) that would be placed in public places and to train at least 15 percent of Town residents in basic CPR and in the use of the portable AEDs. By achieving both of these objectives, our Town would be designated a HEARTSafe Community.

When you consider Sandisfield's size in terms of mileage and our aging population, we can greatly increase the odds of saving a heart attack victim. Our EMTs now respond within minutes, but having defibrillators strategically placed around town and people who know how to use them could be critical when every minute counts.

The fundraising event was hosted at one of the Town's jewel destinations, Sandisfield Orchard. Owner Emily Melchior (recovering from a broken leg) and Calvin Rodman gave the Friends committee carte blanche regarding setting up on their beautiful property, including the use of their apple shack and commercial kitchen. Along with their delightful children, Myrna, Walter, and Sara, Emily and Calvin were very gracious hosts.

As attendees entered the orchard, they were met by talented fiddler Eric Martin whose welcoming tunes set the tone for the day. After a warm period of greeting friends and neighbors, guests feasted on MadJack's BBQ with all the trimmings, followed by prize-worthy apple desserts.

Judges of the apple desserts were three brave men: Ben Hubbard, Dominic Konstam, and Lance Barber. Lance is a well-known actor (George Cooper, Sr., for 7 seasons on the TV series "Young Sheldon"). After his chores at the contest, Lance took selfies with guests and signed autographs.

The apple dessert winners: First place: Diane Caswel Christian. Second place: Karlene Blass. Third place: Janey Snyder. Congratulations to all the bakers!

After the judging, Fire Chief Mike Grillo and Friends President Patricia Hubbard explained the mission of the nonprofit and how all monies donated will be used for community initiatives. Some guests generously donated on the spot.

After the speeches, one of Sandisfield's own firefighters, Tom Curwen, donned his kilt and played the bagpipes.

Friends thanks our many volunteers, including members of the Fire Department who helped set up and break down.

Figures are still being calculated and will be reported in the next issue of The Sandisfield Times. We can, however, confirm that just over 230 people attended, including one woman who arrived horseback.

As Craig Storms summed it up in his response to a post by Christine Nadelman on Connect Sandisfield/Facebook about Heart and Soul, " Beautiful day. Beautiful event. Lucky us."