Hillcats say 'Thank You' to first responders

LYNCHBURG, Va. – As the Lynchburg community and surrounding areas continue to rebuild from the storms over a week ago, Thursday night they took a moment to thank those who helped the most and raise awareness for another relief effort.

As fans and pets of all ages filed into City Stadium Thursday night, there was one group that stood out the most.

"We just wanted to honor and recognize those first responders and volunteers," said Hillcats general manager Ronnie Roberts.
 
The Hillcats offered free admission and a free hot dog to first responders. Jerry Womack is the fire chief at Brookville-Timberlake Fire Department. He recalls when the first call came in.
 
"It was a war zone. The first call came in from Starbucks, the lady was cut by glass," said Womack.

"And it took me about a minute or two to get to Timberlake Road and when I got there I just saw destruction everywhere. And then it hit me that a tornado had touched down."
 
The Hillcats are also assisting the Brookville baseball team, which suffered significant damage to their field. The 50/50 raffle was donated to the team. And La Carreta restaurant made a $2,000 donation for repair costs. Brookville alum and former MLB player Brandon Inge is proud to see the resilience of his hometown. 

"I think I'm most proud about the kids in our community. Our team, the Brookville team the day of and after the tornado were really in the community helping out with a lot of kids," Inge said.

"A lot of families had debris around and they cleaned up a lot of stuff and so that's kind of why I decided to do this. To try and give back to them."
 
The Lynchburg Hillcats said they are proud they can be more than just a baseball team for the community but also a healing agent in times of need.