Troopers spread Christmas cheer

Part 3 of a 3-part story

Tpr. Brian J. Geier of the Missouri State Highway Patrol
watches as 9-year-old Princess decides on a toy. Princess also
enjoyed working the lights and sirens in Geier’s patrol car.

Annually, the Kansas Highway Patrol and the Missouri State Highway Patrol deliver Christmas toys to hospitalized children in Kansas City-area hospitals. The toy drive honors Tpr. Michael L. Newton, a Missouri trooper killed in the line of duty in 2003.

The MSHP also participated in several other holiday events, with Troop B, Macon adopting families each year, and Troop G, Willow Springs, participating in a Shop with a Cop program. And at General HQ, Troop F Jefferson City, Operation TOYS rolled out the red carpet for the area’s needy children on December 20.

Trooper Santa greets a young man being chaperoned by Sgt.
Arie L. Hoard of the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

Numerous troopers and other area officers were paired with needy children for a day of shopping, but only after the annual visit from Santa, who landed in the Kmart parking lot in one of the patrol’s helicopters. Capt. Christian T. Ricks (ret.) has donned a Santa suit and greeted the kids for the past 12 years. Each child received a $90 gift card to purchase needed items and toys.

Tpr. Reggie Edwards, center, and Sgt. Steve Gaskins, right,
of the FHP, join Sgt. Walter Sambola of the U.S. Marine Corps
in welcoming the mother of a toy recipient during the Toys for Tots event.

Members of the Florida Highway Patrol Troop C assisted the U.S. Marine Corps 4th Assault Amphibious Battalion in their annual Toys for Tots drive to help local underprivileged families. Thanks to projects like Toys for Tots, children are provided toys that the Marines and other agencies collect from generous donors during the holidays.

Troopers collected toys at their field offices, escorted the Marines while they gathered toys from donation centers, and then helped the Marines prepare the toys for distribution.

For over 20 years, the Massachusetts State Police has also partnered with the Marine Corps in providing drop-off areas for Toys for Tots donations. For troopers in Georgia, Toys for Tots became a family event. Troopers in the east central part of the state and their families collected more than 150 new toys for the program.

Cpl. Crystal Griffin, assistant post commander at the Georgia State Patrol post in Milledgeville, began the initiative at the local patrol post and quickly expanded the collection effort to all five Troop E posts, including Conyers, Madison, Milledgeville, Thomson, and Washington.

Troopers from the Louisiana State Police Troop F made a difference in the lives of needy families by providing Christmas gifts to underprivileged children from six area families. Troopers caravanned to the homes of these families to deliver the gifts and also delivered food to several of the area’s elderly residents.

The West Virginia State Police conducted a “can”paign during the holidays as part of the Troopers CAN Help program where each of the 60 detachments collected non-perishable canned food items for relief organizations across the state.

Cpl. Marie Wilson of the Florida Highway Patrol
helps three special girls shop for clothes.

The overriding holiday message: The community CAN count on state troopers. As they do every day throughout the year, state troopers across the country proved this holiday season that their desire is to impact their community in a positive way. Whether they accompanied kids on a shopping adventure, collected canned goods, or visited hospitalized children, state troopers and highway patrol officers left an everlasting impression on the lives they touched this Christmas season.

The first two parts of this story may be viewed by clicking the “Previous Feature Stories” button.

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