Chamber donates protective vest for police dog
The Gordon County Chamber of Commerce accomplishes a variety of programs and initiatives through a network of task forces and committees, including its Drugs Don’t Work Task Force. On Friday, June 5, the group was able to complete a project supporting the Calhoun City Police Department and the Gordon County Sheriff’s Office in their fight against illegal drug activity in the community by providing each agency’s drug detection dog with a protective vest.
“The chamber is pleased to support local law enforcement, which does so much to make sure Gordon County remains a safe place to call home,” said Kathy Johnson, president and CEO of the chamber. “Keeping drugs off our streets is vitally important to that mission, and the chamber felt that helping these agencies keep their drug detection dogs safe was a good investment. The Drugs Don’t Work Task Force responsible for the program is led by two Chamber board members: Debbie Vance and Scope Denmon. Vance is Gordon County’s E-911 director and serves as chair while Denmon is the executive director of the Boys & Girls Club and serves as vice-chair.”
During the chamber’s annual planning retreat in October, the project was identified as a 2020 initiative and made part of this year’s program of work. Earlier in the year, the group offered City Police Chief Tony Pyle a check to be used for the purchase of a vest for their dog “K9 Officer Logan” in a brief presentation event planned by Kim Gallman, Gordon County Drugs Don’t Work Coordinator. Those in attendance included Chief Pyle, Corporal Jerry Thompson, and Captain Kenneth Carson, from the Calhoun City Police Department, along with Johnson, Gallman and Vance. The project was completed on Friday when a second presentation event, this one to the Gordon County Sheriff’s office, was held at the chamber.
“This event looked a little different, because of COVID-19, but we were able to accomplish our goal,” said Vance. “The county had requested that the chamber purchase a vest on their behalf, so the officers and their drug dog, Eros, were actually presented with the garment itself. We were happy to have Major Richie Harris, Deputy Dale Pullen, Eros the county canine, and Captain Ben Worley from the Gordon County Sheriff’s Office attend and receive the donation, but we were sorry that Jarrod Powell, recently promoted to sergeant, was out of town at a K-9 training session and unable to attend. Scope Denmon, Kathy Johnson and Kim Gallman were essential to the success of the program and I am grateful to them for their support.”
During each presentation, the law enforcement officers expressed thanks to the chamber for supporting their efforts to keep Gordon County as drug-free as possible. The mission of the Gordon County Chamber of Commerce is to connect members and the community to promote economic growth.