June 2nd, 2008
Flame of Hope Arrives in
Carroll
Law Enforcement officers representing the police agencies throughout
There they will join together and officially present the Flame of Hope in a brief ceremony at noon at City Hall.
It is the duty of these Law Enforcement Torch Runners to ensure that the Flame is protected until it is delivered to the waiting hands of Special Olympics athletes on Friday, June 6th at the Opening Ceremony for the Special Olympic Maryland Summer Games held at
This portion of the Torch Run Relay is part of the Central Leg, and Torch Run volunteers from the Maryland State Police, Sykesville PD, Hampstead PD, Manchester PD, Taneytown PD, Carroll County Sheriff’s Office, the McDaniel College Office of Campus Safety, Springfield Hospital Police, State Fire Marshal’s Office, Maryland Police Training Commission and Westminster PD will escort the flame through various municipalities around the County, eventually converging at McDaniel College and traveling in a unified “Final Leg” along Main Street to City Hall in Westminster.
With the support of Legacy sponsor Aerotek, the law enforcement volunteers are raising funds in conjunction with the run by selling Torch Run T-shirts, holding events, and soliciting donations. (See end of press release for details on each of the 6 legs).
“We are proud to join our brother and sister law enforcement and correctional officers from around the world in demonstrating our support for these very special members of our community,” stated Chief Jeff Spaulding of the Westminster Police Department. “We are particularly pleased that we will be joined on each of our runs by Special Olympics athletes from right here in
Chief Spaulding invites the community to attend a short ceremony at
Statewide, the Maryland Torch Run Relay consists of four different legs – Eastern, Western, Central and Southern – and during the week of June 2nd to 6th, thousands of law enforcement Torch Run volunteers will cover hundreds of miles, eventually converging on Towson where the individual flames will be united in the Final Leg Ceremony, and then officers from around the state will travel the final three (3) miles to the Summer Games Opening Ceremonies at Towson University.
It is there that the “Flame of Hope” is handed off to Special Olympics athletes who have the honor of lighting the cauldron and officially declaring the 2008 SOMD Summer Games open.
The Maryland Law Enforcement Torch Run for Special Olympics is a year-round movement whose goal is to raise both funds and public awareness for the athletes who train and compete in Special Olympics Maryland.
When it began in 1986, only a handful of officers participated, raising about $50,000. Since that time, the Maryland Torch Run has grown tremendously, including volunteer officers from nearly every law enforcement agency and correctional facility in
For more information about the
For more information about Special Olympics Maryland and the 2008 Summer Games, contact Kelley Wallace at (410) 789-6677 x117 or visit www.somd.org.
THE
Sykesville Leg – Members of the
Hampstead/Manchester Leg – Members of the Hampstead PD, and
Taneytown Leg – Members of the Taneytown Police Department and the
Mt. Airy Leg – Members of the
Union Bridge/New
Final Leg – Includes all participating law enforcement agencies in
# # #
MEDIA CONTACT:
Kelley Wallace/SOMD
PH: 410-789-6677 x117
Cell: 443-386-7965
E-mail: kwallace@somd.org
OR
Chief Jeff Spaulding
Westminster Police Department
PH: 410-848-4646
E-mail: jspaulding AT westgov.com
20080602 Media Release 2008
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.