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**PRESS RELEASE **
Re: March 24, 2020
Blount County, TN
Blount County First Responders and Health Care Providers receive donations of N-95 Masks from AKARD COMMUTATOR of TENNESSEE (ACT)
Blount County’s emergency first responder agencies, along with the Blount County Health Department and Blount Memorial Hospital, are receiving a generous donation of N-95 masks from a Blount County business today. President and General Manager of AKARD COMMUTATOR of TENNESSEE (ACT) Mike Akard contacted Blount County Mayor Ed Mitchell and advised that he uses the N-95 masks in his operations and had seen the shortage of the masks available to fire departments, law enforcement, medical responders and Blount Memorial Hospital. He wants to help.
Maryville Fire & Police Departments, Alcoa Fire & Police Departments, Blount County Fire Protection District, Blount County Sheriff’s Office, Friendsville Volunteer Fire Department, Townsend Area Volunteer Fire Department, Seymour Volunteer Fire Department, Greenback Volunteer Fire Department, Blount County Rescue Squad and the Townsend Police Department are all receiving a quantity of N-95 masks based on the departments’ needs. The Blount County Health Department, Blount Memorial Hospital and TEMA will also receive a large quantity to help with their respective shortages.
Mike Akard, President and General Manager of AKARD COMMUTATOR of TENNESSEE (ACT), states, “Blount County, Tennessee, is a great place to live, work, and raise a family. As an extremely blessed homegrown business owner seeing so many lives affected by this COVID-19 crisis, I wanted to help our community by sharing ACT’s supply of N-95 masks to immediately be used in helping others to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus during this global pandemic. Thanks, in large part, to Vicki Williams’ incredible efforts years ago, these protective masks that we’ve made available to employees enable us to share our blessings with the community we love so dearly by donating these 30 cases of
masks (1440 total) to other essential emergency care providers here in locally during this time of dire need. I ran for County Commission with a goal to give back to our community through service. I am glad our company can do the same.”
Mayor Mitchell states, “The N-95 masks are critical for the protection of our front-line responders and medical personnel. We could not be more appreciative of what ACT is doing for our community. This is another example of how Blount County as a community comes together to help each other in a time of need. What Blount County Commissioner Mike Akard and his company are so graciously doing here today embodies the true spirit of giving back to make our community a safer place.”
AKARD COMMUTATOR of TENNESSEE (ACT) is located in Alcoa, Tennessee, and is the largest manufacturer of ALL TYPES/SIZES COMMUTATORS & SLIP RINGS in USA