Monday, September 20, 2021 - 3:16pm By The Leader Staff

Former Lemoore Chief of Police Daryl Smith and 2019 Public Safety Luncheon honoree Eric Trevino. This year's luncheon has been postponed until 2022.

Photo by Gary Feinstein/Feinsteinfotos

The Greater Kings County Chamber of Commerce has decided to postpone this month’s Public Safety Appreciation Luncheon, one of the chamber’s most significant events of the year.

The annual event, hosted by the Greater Kings County Chamber of Commerce, was originally scheduled for this Friday, September 24, at the Hanford Civic Auditorium.

The annual event recognizes and honors Kings County’s public safety officials, including law enforcement officers and firefighters.

“We sincerely value the opportunity to celebrate the exceptional accomplishments of our men and woman in law enforcement who serve the many communities of Kings County,” said Kings County Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Benjamin Kahikina.

Instead, Kahikina said the event will tentatively be held a year later, on September 23, 2022. “I think it’s (postponement) a culmination of things. We are a little on edge about how policies are going to change on COVID-19.”

Kahikina, new to the local chamber of commerce, told The Leader that there were several reasons for the event’s postponement. He cited the ongoing Pandemic, which, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to date, has resulted in 672,738 deaths as of September 20 and a total of 42,031,103 cases since the virus first arrived in the United States.

Greater Kings County Chamber postpones annual Public Safety Appreciation Luncheon

“After much consideration, we’ve made the difficult decision to postpone the PSA Luncheon until fall of 2022, and we anticipate that the event, originally scheduled for September 24 in the Hanford Civic Auditorium, will now be held (tentatively) on September 23, 2022.”

The Pandemic may not have been the only reason for the postponement. There were, of course, concerns about the virus. “We obviously want to maintain safety for the community,” said Kahikina.

Another reason may have been due to ongoing training for public safety. “A lot of them (public safety employees) withdrew because they were in training, especially for their jobs. Those individuals would not have been present.”

Kahikina told The Leader that the community’s support and partnership are essential to the local chamber. “We look forward to sharing more information regarding these developments as they become available,” he said.

“It is our goal to acknowledge and honor those who positively impact the daily lives of our citizens and hope that you continue to support the Greater Kings County Chamber’s Public Safety Appreciation Luncheon in the Future,” said Kahikina.