To Apopka and surrounding communities and all of Austin's Army…
Over the last four months, the Duran family has worked tirelessly to keep alive the memory and spirit of their son Austin, a fallen Apopka firefighter. The Duran's are dedicated advocates for support and safety within Apopka's first responder teams and have no plans to change that priority.
It started with introducing a heartfelt letter written by Austin 10 months into his career, pointing out some concerns and areas of growth, specifically with mentorship within the department. Then, Duran pushed city leadership to open up funding to hire 18 additional firefighters in the 2023 budget year, known as 'Austin's 18'.
During the November 2nd City Council meeting, Austin's father Mike announced an exciting opportunity coming to Apopka in Austin's memory. Duran, Fleet Manager for City Beverages, an Anheuser-Busch Wholesaler, is bringing the world-famous Budweiser Clydesdales to Apopka to give back to the community Austin so passionately served. City leadership, in addition to the Apopka Fire Department, is in full support of this incredible opportunity and will work alongside Duran to ensure this momentous event is something Apopka can take pride in and enjoy.
The Budweiser Clydesdales will visit Apopka on December 2nd, 2022, from 3pm-5pm at Kit Land Nelson Park. This exciting event will back right up into the city of Apopka's annual Christmas Tree Lighting event.
The Duran family's greatest wish is to have the people of Apopka and beyond come out and share in this moment with the community to celebrate the holiday season while also remembering Austin and his dream of seeing his hometown unite in unity, excitement and joy.
Keep an eye out for additional news on this event in the coming days…
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MamaMia
We will come see the horses for sure! I love those Clydesdales! This is a funny little story....One time, my husband, and I, were out near Kissimmee, and I was reading on the cell phone, that the Clydesdale horses were going to make an appearance out there at Old Town, so we went there. We looked that entire area over, and never saw them. We went from end to end of the park, and NO HORSES. I asked everybody, "where are the horses?" We gave up, and headed to the parking lot to leave, and then I smelled them. I said, they are here somewhere, or were here. We knew the time they were to be there. Well, I don't know how it was possible to have missed them, but we did...lol. I smelled them, but never saw them, as big as they were! It was crazy!
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