NEA Baptist honors first responders with free breakfast

Jonesboro, AR – (JonesboroRightNow.com) – Sept. 11, 2025 – First responders gathered in honor and remembrance of 9/11 Thursday morning during the 10th annual NEA Baptist First Responders Breakfast.

The event, which took place at the NEA Baptist Conference Center, provided first responders with a free breakfast, with dine-in and carryout options available.

Ty Jones, director of marketing for NEA Baptist Memorial Hospital, said the hospital uses 9/11 as a day of remembrance for the work and the sacrifice of responders across the nation.

“It gives us a chance to really honor their work and show some appreciation of them because as a healthcare organization we work so closely with our local first responders,” Jones said. “It’s a great day for us to stop and honor and give back. We appreciate all of our first responders. It’s fun for us to get to see the same faces and get to catch up with them, and I think it’s a good pause for them to kind of step outside of their normal work duty and get to enjoy fellowship with other first responders.”

Jonesboro Police Department Sgt. Brian Arnold said events like this mean a lot to first responders because it brings multiple departments together.

He said that, while all the responders work well with each other, events like this give them a chance to come together and actually talk, see and check on each other.

“It’s a great deal for us. A lot of us are older and actually remember the events when it happened,” Arnold said. “Some of our newer officers may not have even been born when that took place. So, for some of us that actually watched that day and remember the day of and, more importantly, the day after, how America came together.”

He continued, “Unfortunately, we had that happen, but watching America come together was a great day. You always have a loss of life and we try to remember those who lost their lives with the fire department, police departments and all first responders. So, it is a memorial for us and you know, so it means a lot when the community comes out to celebrate us as well.”