photo credit: Matt Difanis
Serving the Mahomet community is something that has been on the heart of Mahomet Police Officer Dave Parson since he was 19 years old. And after 28 years of service to the Mahomet community, the Mahomet Chamber of Commerce Recognized Parsons with the Above and Beyond Service Award at their Annual Banquet, which was held on January 30.
Parsons was nominated by Mahomet Police Department Chief Mike Metzler. The Mahomet Chamber of Commerce developed the Above & Beyond award in 2015 to recognize Mahomet’s service men and women who ” through their exceptional performance of community service activities, have distinguished themselves above and beyond the call of duty.”
“That was extremely humbling,” he said. “The award is very special, and I don’t want to take anything away from the Chamber, but when you find out it’s someone you look up to that nominated you, that’s very humbling.”
A Mahomet native, Parsons joined the Cornbelt Fire Protection District before he turned 20 years old. Now, he volunteers as a Lieutenant for the Cornbelt and a Supervisor for the Champaign County Fire Investigation team.
After two years at Southern Illinois University, Parsons returned home to finish out his education at the University of Illinois.
“I would always talk about Mahomet as this special community,” Parsons said. “Some of the people I went to Southern with, ended up back in the Champaign County area; they remembered how I used to talk about this town, and now they understand what I meant.”
Parsons, who been instrumental in making the Sangamon River Music Festival what it is today, said he remembers the feeling of getting out of school, excited to spend the weekend on the carnival rides at the Mahomet Fall Festival. And while the Sangamon River Music Festival did not have carnival rides until four years ago, it was Parson’s idea to give Mahomet residents a weekend of music that spurred what is now an event that draws people from near and far to downtown Mahomet to listen to live performances from national acts for two days each August.
“This was never what I envisioned,” Parsons said. “I just wanted to have something for Mahomet residents to do. Every year more and more people wanted to help, and more and more ideas happened. When you look at what it is now, it’s like ‘How did this happen? This is so cool!”
When he’s not with the Festival Board making plans for next year’s big show, Parsons also volunteers his time with the Illinois Fraternal Order of Police, Illini Lodge 17. The Fraternal Order of Police, Illini Lodge 17 makes annual donations to the Mahomet Area Youth Club, delivers Christmas food baskets to families and the elderly, sends over 160 special needs children to summer camp and delivers baby seats to parents who cannot afford them.
Parsons said giving something to a family in need is an awesome feeling.
“There have been instances where we’ve had to visit a family on the law enforcement side, then we get to give them a basket two weeks later,” he said. “You’re able to have a positive interaction with them; and they get to see that we’re just human beings, too.”
After 20 years on the Mahomet Police Department, Parsons said while age is catching up with him, he can’t imagine a time when he won’t be giving back to the community.
“That’ has become so engrained in my life,” he said.
