Freedom Fest creates new award to honor Eastern Iowan

Every morning when Wade Hemmelrick wakes up and gets ready for the day, he sets a new personal record.

Since March 9, 2014, Hemmelrick has been the self-described 'walking billboard” for Cedar Rapids Freedom Festival, a three-week long celebration and Fourth of July fireworks display. Since that day last year, Hemmelrick has worn a Freedom Festival T-shirt every day to support the organization. His collection numbers more than a hundred shirts.

The Freedom Festival board of directors noticed Hemmelrick's devotion and decided to create a new award to honor him. Because Hemmelrick is known as the Freedom Festival patriot, the new honor will be called the Patriot Award.

'I'm just a hot dog-eating patriot,” Hemmelrick says. 'I'm more of a ‘we the people' kind of person - more like the Founding Fathers originally taught us a long time ago.”

Liz Neff, events and marketing director for Freedom Festival, said the award will honor people who are positive and have overcome difficult obstacles like Hemmelrick, who is blind.

Hemmelrick described himself as a non-commissioned officer for the Freedom Festival and supports it through social media posts, merchandise and attendance at events.

'(Hemmelrick's) story is so important ...” Neff says. 'We hope that he will inspire others to be positive and be involved in their community.”

Hemmelrick said the Freedom Festival is special because it allows so many people to get involved. But most of all, he likes that the Freedom Festival gives people the opportunity to celebrate freedom. He said he hopes the ideas of 'individual freedom” and 'personal liberty” will be spread with the award each year.

Hemmelrick and three Freedom Festival Hero award recipients will be honored at the Tribute to Heroes Dinner on June 18. Hemmelrick also will be the grand marshal of the parade June 27.

'I am your average Joe, the average red, white and true-blue American, average citizen just doing his best to get along in life despite the hardships I've been through and still go through sometimes,” Hemmelrick says.