The City of Bristol issued the following announcement on Friday:

With the month of March marking one year of the pandemic, the City of Bristol is acknowledging the frontline and essential workers that kept city services and support moving forward during these past 12 months.

“While most people were quarantined at home and many businesses were required to shut down, city departments continued their work,” said Mayor Ellen Zoppo-Sassu. “This includes the Bristol-Burlington Health District, our Police and Fire First Responders and support staff, all of the City Hall staffers who continued to service the public whether it was the somber duty of issuing death certificates to scheduling bulk pick-ups; Public Works teams, the Water & Sewer Department, the Board of Education which pivoted to Remote Learning, and the team at Bristol Health and Community Health Centers, we thought it only appropriate to shine the light on them.”

“Over the course of the next week, the community will see banners and posters with images of these employees showcased across the City,” said Councilwoman Mary Fortier who spearheaded the City’s All-Heart Response effort last spring. “The banners were produced and paid for with a grant from Cigna. In addition to banners, there are individual employees featured on posters, which are 48 inches in height and are available to local businesses who
may want to adopt a poster.”

“Along with all other city employees, the firefighters have been on the front lines and partnering with Medical and City Hall employees to ensure that the public is safe. It is a nice acknowledgement and another example of a great working relationship among all of us that the Mayor and City Council took the extra steps to secure a sponsorship to turn around and acknowledge how difficult this has been for all of us,” said Sean Lennon, President of the Bristol Firefighters Local #773 Union.

The various images will be displayed on city buildings, on the Route 72 pedestrian bridge, at City Hall, and at local medical offices. Local businesses interested in displaying a postershould call the Mayor’s Office to make their request at 860-584-6250.