Alan Broden: A Life Lived Well
For more than 30 years, late Kootenai County 911 dispatcher Alan Broden was the calm voice in the face of chaos, directing patrol officers and emergency responders to their destinations. His retirement on Dec. 1 left a hole in the 911 dispatch center. His unexpected death Feb. 28 left a hole in the lives of his loved ones and friends. Hundreds attended his funeral. A day later, hardship hit the family again when daughter Sarah, a University of Idaho student, fell and fractured two bones in her lower leg. Which required surgery and a wheelchair. In an e-mail to Huckleberries Online, Alan's daughter, Cyndi Broden Holbert, of Pocatello, tells what happened next: "My parent's house was not equipped for wheelchair access, but thanks to the EMS crew from the Northern Lakes Fire Department (who transported my Dad to the hospital the day he died), and with materials and funds donated by Avista, a wheelchair ramp was built on Sunday (March 22)." By being the person he was, Cyndi concludes, her father "somehow made sure he would take care of us even when he was gone." That's what you call "paying it forward."
Question: Have you ever made a local 911 distress call?