Dougherty County Sheriff’s Office offers chicken, hot dogs, unity this weekend

ALBANY – In 2009, Dougherty County Sheriff Kevin Sproul and some of his staff got together to brainstorm about how to become more involved in the community.

One of those ideas was the annual Building Unity in the Community gathering, and the retiring sheriff will oversee his last one of those events on Saturday. As always, the 11 a.m.-2 p.m. event at Riverfront Park in downtown Albany will feature free food, fun and entertainment.

The sheriff’s office is also gearing up for other community events toward the end of the year, including the October Building Unity in the Community Golf Tournament, which provides funding for other programs, a Thanksgiving food giveaway and the Shop With a Sheriff program in December.

For Saturday, a benefactor who wishes to remain anonymous has donated 144 cases of chicken leg quarters, so there will be plenty of food. In addition, Sheriff-elect Terron Hayes, who is currently the office’s chief deputy, is making the baked beans and there will be hot dogs for the kids, along with potato salad.

In all, there will be enough food to feed more than 1,500 people, Hayes said.

“This is my way, and our way, the sheriff’s office’s way of giving back to the community every year,” Sproul said. “It’s our event (in which) we at the sheriff’s office get to thank the citizens of Dougherty County for the important role they play in the community.

“We started in 2021 at a little park in south Albany; we started off in Carver Park.”

Since that time, the sheriff’s office has hosted Unity in a variety of venues in the city.

“We’ve moved it all over the place,” the sheriff said. “We missed the ‘20 and ‘21 years because of COVID. Out of my 16 years, this will be my 13th. We’ve had so many people tell us how much they appreciate this event.”

The youngsters will be able to play games at the park, and the sheriff’s office also will have its flying drone on hand as well as Maverick the police dog.

“The kids were enamored by the drone last year,” Sproul said.

Attendance last year was about 1,100, and Sproul said he is hoping for a better turnout this year to send him off. Staff also has alerted him that there may be a special guest or two coming to see him.

“It’s exciting,” he said. “I’m hoping to see a lot of people who haven’t made it out in the past. No matter how many people show up, we just appreciate our citizens.

“There are amazing people in our community, and we just want to let them know we really care for them. This will be my last time hosting this, and I want to see the whole community out here.”

The golf tournament is scheduled for Oct. 28, with lunch at 11:30 a.m. and tee time at 12:30 p.m.

Staff Photo: Alan MauldinAlanMauldin[email protected]