Well, the Graham Police Department is at it again. They are trying to raise $10,000 this year for Special Olympics (SO). Sgt. Duane Flood has been selling SO caps and t-shirts for months. Eleven of us ran in the torch run while several others drove before and after the group to keep them safe. (An article from a local newspaper is here.) We ran the torch 5.4 miles, connecting Burlington PD runners with runners from the Mebane PD. Regrettably, Haw River PD and the Alamance County Sheriff’s Department were missing from the event. It would have been a lot easier on us and raised a whale of a lot more public awareness for SO if they’d been with us.
Still, we made it (Here is a video report.). In fact, I was surprised that I was able to cover most of the distance. Cpl. Pete Acosta, notably, was able to comfortably traverse the entire mileage without walking or catching a breather in the van. Those who ran were Cpl. Pete Acosta, Detective Chris Denny, Sgt. Duane Flood, Officer John Hodge, Capt. Steve McGilvray, Chief Jeff Prichard, Cpl. Scott Sheldon, Chaplain Mark Ryman, Officer Adam Walker, and Officer Ryan Young and his wife, Sheri. Those who participated in other ways were Officer Kristy Cole, SRO David Lewis, Intern Lisa Lee-Phillips, and Lt. Tony Watkins. More photos are here.
The Criminal Investigations Division sponsored a pancake breakfast and raffle that garnered over $1,000 for SO. Photos of that event are here.
Yesterday, Cop on Top kicked off at the local McDonalds. While Sgt. Flood gets the whole department and Special Olympians to show up and help, Cpl. Scott Sheldon makes it a lot more successful. His antics, enthusiasm, and big mouth bring in people who would ordinarily have driven by and he prods folks into giving that might have ignored us. But you can’t ignore Scott. If you’re in the area today, stop by; it’s a lot of fun. And…bring your checkbook! 
Photos of the event are here.
One Comment
Your pics from the event were great to look at!