Decatur County Honors Winter Storm Fern First Responders at Recognition Dinner

U.S. Representative Matt Van Epps told Decatur County first responders gathered in Parsons on March 31 that their work through Winter Storm Fern already exists in the Congressional Record, and that it deserves to be remembered.

The recognition dinner, hosted jointly by Mayor Mike Creasy and Decatur County Emergency Management, brought together road crews, emergency medical personnel, law enforcement officers, fire departments, and utility workers who sustained operations through days of freezing rain and ice across the county in late January. Van Epps served as the evening's guest speaker and cited the formal tribute he had entered into the Congressional Record on their behalf.

"Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the people of Decatur County, Tennessee for their extraordinary display of unity, service, and selflessness during the recent Winter Storm Fern," Van Epps said in those floor remarks. He called the responders inspiring and credited Decatur County residents with exemplifying "Tennessee's Volunteer spirit," stating their actions "made us all proud" and "deserve to be remembered."

Mayor Creasy told attendees that Van Epps's words captured precisely what Decatur County represents and expressed deep personal pride in the county's response. He also noted a broader pattern: Decatur County has been added to the Congressional Record multiple times since 2019, a run of formal federal recognition that reflects the sustained demands placed on local agencies during severe weather events.

Winter Storm Fern struck the county in late January with prolonged freezing rain that coated roads and forced extended operations across multiple agencies. The sustained nature of the event, rather than a single acute incident, placed particular demands on responders who had to maintain staffing and equipment over consecutive days of hazardous conditions.

Congressional Record recognition carries practical weight alongside the ceremonial. Documented federal acknowledgment strengthens grant applications tied to disaster response, provides written justification for equipment and infrastructure funding requests, and reinforces recruitment by formally affirming the scale of work local agencies perform. For departments operating with a mix of volunteer and career personnel, that acknowledgment can shape the next budget cycle as directly as it shaped the March 31 dinner table in Parsons.

Mayor Creasy's observation that Decatur County has earned Congressional Record entries multiple times since 2019 frames the recognition dinner as more than a single-event tribute. It documents a sustained pattern of significant emergency response by local agencies, and that documented record becomes a formal asset when county leaders make the case for funding, equipment, and interagency support ahead of future winter events.