Nonprofit 'Back Brevard Heroes' Continues Year-Round Appreciation
Photos by Sandy Roots Photography
Back Brevard Heroes is a nonprofit dedicated to supporting Brevard Countys law enforcement officers, firefighters, emergency medical technicians, and military personnel. Run by an all-female volunteer group of mothers and small-business owners, Back Brevard Heroes mission is to give back to those who give so much to our community.
Photos by Sandy Roots Photography
Back Brevard Heroes is a nonprofit dedicated to supporting Brevard Countys law enforcement officers, firefighters, emergency medical technicians, and military personnel. Run by an all-female volunteer group of mothers and small-business owners, Back Brevard Heroes mission is to give back to those who give so much to our community.
Photos by Sandy Roots Photography
Back Brevard Heroes is a nonprofit dedicated to supporting Brevard Countys law enforcement officers, firefighters, emergency medical technicians, and military personnel. Run by an all-female volunteer group of mothers and small-business owners, Back Brevard Heroes mission is to give back to those who give so much to our community.
Photos by Sandy Roots Photography
Back Brevard Heroes is a nonprofit dedicated to supporting Brevard Countys law enforcement officers, firefighters, emergency medical technicians, and military personnel. Run by an all-female volunteer group of mothers and small-business owners, Back Brevard Heroes mission is to give back to those who give so much to our community.
Photos by Sandy Roots Photography
Back Brevard Heroes is a nonprofit dedicated to supporting Brevard Countys law enforcement officers, firefighters, emergency medical technicians, and military personnel. Run by an all-female volunteer group of mothers and small-business owners, Back Brevard Heroes mission is to give back to those who give so much to our community.
Photos by Sandy Roots Photography
Back Brevard Heroes is a nonprofit dedicated to supporting Brevard Countys law enforcement officers, firefighters, emergency medical technicians, and military personnel. Run by an all-female volunteer group of mothers and small-business owners, Back Brevard Heroes mission is to give back to those who give so much to our community.
Photos by Sandy Roots Photography
Back Brevard Heroes is a nonprofit dedicated to supporting Brevard Countys law enforcement officers, firefighters, emergency medical technicians, and military personnel. Run by an all-female volunteer group of mothers and small-business owners, Back Brevard Heroes mission is to give back to those who give so much to our community.
Photos by Sandy Roots Photography
Back Brevard Heroes is a nonprofit dedicated to supporting Brevard Countys law enforcement officers, firefighters, emergency medical technicians, and military personnel. Run by an all-female volunteer group of mothers and small-business owners, Back Brevard Heroes mission is to give back to those who give so much to our community.
Photos by Sandy Roots Photography
Back Brevard Heroes is a nonprofit dedicated to supporting Brevard Countys law enforcement officers, firefighters, emergency medical technicians, and military personnel. Run by an all-female volunteer group of mothers and small-business owners, Back Brevard Heroes mission is to give back to those who give so much to our community.
Photos by Sandy Roots Photography
Back Brevard Heroes is a nonprofit dedicated to supporting Brevard Countys law enforcement officers, firefighters, emergency medical technicians, and military personnel. Run by an all-female volunteer group of mothers and small-business owners, Back Brevard Heroes mission is to give back to those who give so much to our community.
Photos by Sandy Roots Photography
Back Brevard Heroes is a nonprofit dedicated to supporting Brevard Countys law enforcement officers, firefighters, emergency medical technicians, and military personnel. Run by an all-female volunteer group of mothers and small-business owners, Back Brevard Heroes mission is to give back to those who give so much to our community.
Photos by Sandy Roots Photography
Back Brevard Heroes is a nonprofit dedicated to supporting Brevard Countys law enforcement officers, firefighters, emergency medical technicians, and military personnel. Run by an all-female volunteer group of mothers and small-business owners, Back Brevard Heroes mission is to give back to those who give so much to our community.
Photos by Sandy Roots Photography
Back Brevard Heroes is a nonprofit dedicated to supporting Brevard Countys law enforcement officers, firefighters, emergency medical technicians, and military personnel. Run by an all-female volunteer group of mothers and small-business owners, Back Brevard Heroes mission is to give back to those who give so much to our community.
Photos by Sandy Roots Photography
Back Brevard Heroes is a nonprofit dedicated to supporting Brevard Countys law enforcement officers, firefighters, emergency medical technicians, and military personnel. Run by an all-female volunteer group of mothers and small-business owners, Back Brevard Heroes mission is to give back to those who give so much to our community.
In 2020, a community Facebook page post talked about thanking local first responders by hosting a community barbecue. It started as a thank-you event for first responders and was supported and paid for by local small businesses. The next year, Sherri Centore, Kimberly Tucker, and Tina Herman wanted to do even more and expand ways to show appreciation and say thank you to first responders all year long.
“The barbecue started during a time when things were a little bit hectic for our law enforcement community and we wanted to say thank you and give back to them,” said BBH President Sherri Centore. “The businesses rallied, and the community came out and supported, as well. It continued to grow and the three of us wanted to do even more, so we decided to start our nonprofit Back Brevard Heroes.”
Centore, Tucker, and Herman all have deep personal connections to the first responder community. Tucker’s mother served as a police officer in Detroit and her two sons are both disabled military veterans. Centore and Herman both have daughters working for Brevard County Sheriff’s Office.
Centore, Tucker, and Herman, along with fellow board members Leslie Kleinhenz and Jill Avery, are all volunteers. They run Back Brevard Heroes while raising families and running their own small businesses. No one takes a paycheck. Every penny donated goes to supporting our local heroes.
This year’s barbecue, which will be on May 7 at the Brevard Veterans Memorial Center, is a true community wide event expected to attract more than 1,500 guests. It will be presented in partnership with Miller and Hurt Wealth Advisors. Investment advisor Tony Hurt is not only a corporate sponsor, but he and his family personally cook the food served. The food for the event is donated by Hampton Manor Assisted Living Facility on Merritt Island. In all, more than 100 community volunteers come together to help.
At the barbecue, families are treated to a day of fun, food, and live entertainment. Johnny Danger will be performing, while DJ Tony Signorino will also help enliven the crowd. There will be carnival games, a petting zoo, and a demonstration of the jaws of life. Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey will even take a turn in the dunk tank. While the event is free for first responders, Back Brevard Heroes welcomes community members to attend for a donation at the door.
The annual barbecue is not the only way Back Brevard Heroes shows appreciation. The organization delivers hero baskets to firefighters and goodie bags to dispatchers behind the scenes. Little gifts given throughout the year, such as custom air fresheners for officers’ cars or candy bars left in mailboxes, help Brevard heroes feel appreciated. The organization has even raised money to help local fire stations purchase much needed equipment.
James Dumont, a lieutenant with the Kennedy Space Center Fire Department, credits Back Brevard Heroes with helping his family when he was battling cancer. His fellow firefighters contacted BBH, who planned a fundraiser that raised over $12,000 to help with Dumont’s medical bills.
“The best thing about it is, us firefighters and law enforcement and other first responders, we aren’t ones to ask for help,” Dumont said. “We are the ones that are there to go help others.”
“We just want to show our support for our first responders in the hopes that that will make their jobs a little easier,” Centore said. “We want them to know they have a community that stands behind them.”
4th Annual First Responders Appreciation BBQ
Saturday, May 7, 11 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Brevard Veterans Memorial Center
400 S. Sykes Creek Parkway, Merritt Island, FL 32952
backbrevardheroes.com/sponsors
Facebook: /backbrevardheroes
Instagram: @backbrevardheroes
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