The South Central Task Force honored its regional responders Tuesday in Cumberland County. The task force awarded its first ever Mrs. Smith awards at the conference center at Central Penn College in Summerdale. The award recognizes emergency responders in South Central Pennsylvania who have exceeded expectations in their community. One of the people honored was Dan Mader, the assistant fire chief of the West Hanover Township Fire Department, who donated his kidney to a fellow firefighter.
Dan Mader, who’s father died from kidney disease, says he donated so could save one person from experiencing what his father went through, “Last February I donated a kidney to one of our fellow firefighters. I went through the whole process, I didn’t really tell anybody at my job or most of my friends. I just wanted to do it for recognition for what my father went through and didn’t want to see someone have to suffer through the same thing.”
The award ceremony was part of the South Central Task Force’s 12th annual Homeland Security Conference.