2023 Patriot Awards attendees address the importance of the annual event: 'It's a light in the dark'

FOX News Digital spoke with attendees of the 2023 Patriot Awards ahead of the show Thursday to hear why the event is uniquely important.

FOX News Digital spoke with audience members ahead of the show to get a pulse on the crowd's reason for attending. Laura Carrione is an Editor with Fox News Digital, spearheading editorial coverage for Fox Nation features and premieres. As part of the Fox News Flash & Media team, Laura has her hand in a variety of content - from faith & values to crime & justice - having recently interviewed celebrities like actor Leslie Jordan, author Mitch Albom, and crime expert Nancy Grace for FOX. Laura can be contacted at laura.carrione@fox.com for any ideas or story tips.

"The Patriot Awards to me are actually of great significance," one man proudly donning an American fIag-printed tie said. "I come from a military background, as well as firefighters and policemen, and to honor all those individuals that put their lives on the line for us every day… is something that they'll never be able to get back. So, this is something that we can do as a community to give back to them as a thank you — because they're there for us every day.""The importance of the Patriot Awards to me is celebrating actual heroes," one woman said. "We give too much homage to people who, in the grand scheme of things, don't matter, and we really forget the people who actually do what we need them to do. Our soldiers, our firefighters, our policemen every day, nurses and doctors, standing up for what's right — and that's what it means to me."