On March 9th, 2016 Tessie Odom Smith, a paramedic with Florence County EMS, was involved in a head on collision while responding to a call. She suffered very serious and very life threatening injuries, to include the amputation of her right leg. Over the next several weeks Tessie’s family began to seek a support organization that specialized in providing support for First Responders (specifically
those related to EMS) injured in the line of duty. Despite much effort, no such organization could be found. Because of this, and the overwhelming support that was provided to the family, they decided that giving back to the community, local and abroad, was their next step. Out of this need, Holding the Line was born. Holding the Line is a 501 c3 Non-Profit organization dedicated to serving, honoring, inspiring and empowering members of the First Responders family. The name, Holding the Line, alludes to former military tactics, in which a line of troops was met by an opposing line of troops on the battlefield. While each side took their respective turn volleying fire at the opposing forces, it became increasingly difficult to maintain a strong line as men would begin to retreat under the immense pressure. Ultimately, those that stayed and held the line were the strongest, bravest and most committed to the cause. When it comes to supporting our First Responders family in time of need, we have made a commitment, we will be the most dedicated to the cause, and we will hold the line. As mentioned above, our mission is to serve, honor, inspire and empower members of the First Responder family at a national level. While this organization was born from a need that existed in the EMS community, we soon found that many of these EMT’s and paramedics served as medics with both law enforcement units and fire departments. We felt it would be a disservice not to include these branches as they very much are a huge part of this blended family. Our goal is to make sure this family does not struggle in times of adversity, turns every mess into a message, and helps every First Responder across the country sleep just a little better knowing that we are Holding the Line.
