Law Enforcement Torch Run fundraiser for Special Olympics

ALBANY — The 2016 Law Enforcement Torch Run for Special Olympics in Albany kicked off Thursday morning at the courthouse downtown. Members from all local law enforcement agencies participated in the marathon event including the Albany Police Department, Dougherty County Police Department, Dougherty County Sheriff’s Office, Albany State University Police Department, Darton State College Police Department, Marine Corps Logistics Base-Albany Police and SWAT.

“This run was held to raise money and awareness for the Special Olympics,” Albany Police Department spokeswoman Phyllis Banks said.

Intersections along Pine Avenue and Dawson Road were blocked as runners took to the streets for the five-mile run, which started at the downtown courthouse and ended in the parking lot of the Publix supermarket on Dawson Road.

According to the Special Olympics website, the Law Enforcement Torch Run is the largest annual fundraising event benefiting Special Olympians. More than 85,000 law enforcement personnel participate each year in the run throughout 46 nations, 12 Canadian provinces and all 50 U.S. states. The event has raised more than $560 million since its inception in 1981 by Wichita, Kansas Police Chief Richard LaMunyon.

LaMunyon conceived of the idea as a way for local law enforcement officers to volunteer with Special Olympics in the communities where they live and work. The idea was quickly adopted by the International Association of Chiefs of Police. Today all 50 states have their individual versions of the Torch Run.

The first Torch Run in Georgia was organized in 1986, and each year the 1,000-mile two-weeklong relay culminates at the State Summer Games opening ceremony in Atlanta as officers deliver the torch, the Flame of Hope, to a Special Olympic athlete who lights the Olympic cauldron at the beginning of the Games.

Special Olympic athlete and Dougherty County School System employee Billy Griner Jr. carried the torch Thursday in Albany. Griner has participated in the Special Olympics for more than 30 years and as a Special Olympian has won more than 20 medals, 10 of them gold.

“We are extremely proud of Billy,” said J.D. Sumner, a spokesperson for the Dougherty School System. “He is the epitome of professionalism when it comes to his job and athleticism.”