If laughter really does save lives, more than 200 souls were saved during John Larocchia’s Laughter Saves Lives Vero Beach fundraiser last Friday night at the Elks Lodge; a stop on his cross-country Laughter Saves Lives Comedy Tour.
Comedians Steve Netta and Joe Riga joined Larocchia in front of a crowd that included first responders, ex-military and Community Response Emergency Team Members (CERT).
Many were members of SAFER (Support Alliance for Emergency Resiliency) of Indian River County, an organization which assists community disaster victims in advance of state or federal agencies.
A former Hazmat Company 1 Firefighter, Larocchia lost most of his squad September 11, 2001, and became numb with grief. He remembers returning to a sense of normalcy the first time he found himself laughing.
Before 9/11, Larocchia had been on his way to becoming a fresh new face on the comedy circuit. He also had a radio show with his friend and fellow firefighter Tommy Gardner. Gardner perished with 19 other members of their crew.
Many survivors have had difficulty finding ways to recover from the tragedy, but Larocchia realized that one way to honor his friends was to live his life for all of them.
“If those guys were looking down on me from heaven and saw me not doing something positive with my life after they were all gone, they would come down and kick my [butt],” said Larocchia, who now uses his comedic talent to raise funds for first responders in need and other fire and police related charities.
SAFER board member Michele Klager saw Larocchia perform in New York and was determined to bring him to Vero Beach for a fundraiser to benefit both SAFER and the Laughter Saves Lives Foundation.
It was an evening filled with hilarity, which included the three comedians poking fun at the median age of the Vero Beach crowd and its small-town ways. Good-natured Veroites took the New York-style teasing on the jaw, giving back as good as they got.
After one quick comeback, Riga laughed, “I’ve never been heckled by an 80-year-old.”
SAFER was formed last year as a centralized alliance to maximize resources and minimize the duplication of efforts during times of disaster.
“After the tornadoes that hit a few years ago west of town, FEMA did not designate the damage as a disaster. We realized that there was a need for help,” said Lisa Poziomek, SAFER board president. “We knew we wanted to form a coalition to fill those gaps and also be proactive before another disaster occurred.”
The United Way is a SAFER partner, manning a Volunteer Reception Center to coordinate disaster efforts. There is also a new Teen Driver Safety program in partnership with the Indian River County Sheriff’s Office and Fire Smoke Detector programs coordinated with Indian River County Fire Rescue.
