One of the things I've been working on is National Tell a Police Officer "Thank You!" Day for Huber Heights. The event will be September 15, so it's coming up FAST. I didn't know about it until reading about it on Facebook way back on August 2nd!! That's just over a month to plan (and execute) different ways to let our local police officers know they are appreciated by their community!
If you've followed my blog for a while, you know Dad is a retired policeman. When I kind of stumbled onto the Facebook post from Whole Truth Project, I immediately volunteered to be a team captain for Huber Heights. It's been a little disheartening at times, but when things start working, they really start working!
National Tell a Police Officer "Thank You!" Day is a grassroots effort (begun by Andrew Hale, Chicago attorney, and the creator of the Whole Truth Project) to have communities all over the nation honor their local police force in ways that are meaningful to them. Because it's a grassroots effort that didn't really start until the middle of August (it took a little while to get some things together and then sent out from Chicago), most people know nothing about it. Every visit to a business means re-telling the same spiel (although I think I've gotten it down to less than a minute now!). I've created a Facebook page for the event, and in an effort to draw more people from the area to the page, I've begun a little challenge.
Meet Stress Cop.
Stress Cop and the business card were sent to me for being a team leader. Stress Cop is helping me relieve stress by touring our fine city and posing for pictures at different locations. Then I am cropping the photos so it isn't too easy to figure out where it was taken, and then posting them on the Facebook page. We got stuck on the 3rd round, but I gave them time to think about it while posting the 4th round, which was guessed pretty quickly. That's as far as we've gotten.
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| This is the one we were stuck on; they got FedEx after a hint, but since I gave a hint, they have to tell me what street the business is on, and that part of the answer was wrong the first time. Second time was a charm. FedEx on Executive. |
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| This one was guessed right away. Is it as obvious to you? It was taken at our only Target store. |
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| This is the one I started with. I think it should have been the easiest to answer for the way I introduced it. This is the sign at the entrance to the Charles C. Huber Community Park. I tagged several high school friends as the park was where some of them spent class times in alternative activities . . . . |
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| This is the drop box for videos/dvds at the Library (not a video rental store!!). I figured using the book depository would give it completely away. |
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| Yes, that is my red t-shirt in the ATM reflection, but I blurred out my face, and the name of the bank. We all know it's an ATM machine, but I'll only be asking which bank it belongs to. Fifth/Third (or 5/3). |
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| This was an Hawaiian Ice "shack" in the parking lot of the shopping center with the Library and ATM. I'm going to use them consecutively to see if anybody might pick up on that. I also intentionally kept the building in the background to give a little reference. |
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| Sadly, I wasn't able to keep Stress Cop in focus in this shot. I don't expect anyone to tell me WHICH Speedway this is (we only have 4 of them in our little burg). But if anyone wants to know, it's the one at Fishburg and Brandt. |
I hope you'll all join me on September 15th, where ever you may be, and find a way to thank a police officer in your community. Little things you can provide: a hand written thank you note; if there's a bicycle patrol, offer a COLD bottle of water; don't forget the K9 officers (both 4 and 2 legged) - treats for the dogs with handler's permission and a cookie for the human officer; take a picture of your group or family with a poster thanking your police officers and take it to the station; bake cookies or brownies and deliver to the station; drop off a case of bottled water at the station; if you've had to rely on one of your officers for protection or investigation, let them (and the chief) know how you value their services; the opportunities are only as limited as your imagination.
Remember, the day is about the men, women, and dogs who CHOOSE to serve and protect daily. They know they are often ridiculed and derided and portrayed negatively more often than not by the media. They know, that while not likely, it is entirely possible that each day they put on the badge could be their last. And yet they still CHOOSE to put that badge on, walk out their door, and put their life on the line to keep me safe. The absolute VERY LEAST thing I can do is to support them and thank them.
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