Dr. Frank Stechey speaks at a recent Salvation Army luncheon

“I never thought I would need The Salvation Army,” says Dr. Frank Stechey. “I was wrong.”

Stechey was the first foreign, and only Canadian, dentist deployed to New York City following the September 11 attacks in 2001, and he was the keynote speaker at The Salvation Army's London Advisory Board annual luncheon in London, Ont., in May.

His task as a part of the dental identification team was gruesome and taxing. It was during this time that Stechey found hope at The Salvation Army.

Speaking on the theme of Giving Hope in the Midst of Disaster, he shared details about how he initially met the Army at “Sal's Café,” as they affectionately nicknamed the canteen, and later through simple acts like a bottle of water in the pit which he referred to as “liquid gold.”

“That's what the Army did for us,” he said. “I couldn't have made it without them.”

The Salvation Army honours first responders in London, Ont. From left, Perron Goodyear, Brad Duncan, Neal Roberts and Lt-Colonel Lee Graves

The luncheon, which focused on The Salvation Army's Emergency Disaster Services (EDS), also featured a video on EDS in the Ontario Great Lakes Division and served as an opportunity to show appreciation to local first responders. Brad Duncan, London police chief, and Neal Roberts, Middlesex-London EMS chief, accepted certificates of appreciation from Lt-Colonel Lee Graves, divisional commander, and Perron Goodyear, divisional director of emergency and disaster services.

“The Salvation Army counts it an honour and a privilege to stand shoulder to shoulder with our first responders and to support them during an emergency or disaster situation,” says Goodyear.