American Legion Post 30 to host eighth Cliff Rouse Memorial Ride

ALBANY — For eight years American Legion Post 30’s group of law enforcement officers and military veterans have gathered to host a charity motorcycle ride each spring to ensure that the memory of Lt. Cliff Rouse, a Dougherty County Police officer who was killed in the line of duty in 2010, will not be forgotten.

Since its inception, the annual Cliff Rouse Memorial Ride has raised more than $144,000 for the Georgia COPS (Concerns for Police Survivors) Foundation to serve families of fallen Georgia Law Enforcement Officers and for direct donations to local fallen officers’ families.

“The first year we raised over $16,000 for the Rouse Family,” event organizer Don Cheek, the former chief of the Dougherty County Police Department, said. “During the next six years, an additional $128,000 has been raised. An additional $12,500 has been placed in a trust to allow our committee to make direct payments to families of the current year’s fallen Georgia officers.”

This year’s ride is set for Saturday.

Hundreds of motorcycle enthusiasts have supported the event each year, gathering to ride in honor of not just Rouse, but all officers who have made the ultimate sacrifice serving their communities.

“We had just over a hundred riders last year,” fellow event organizer John Patton said. “We are hoping, depending on the weather, that we will have more than that this year. We’ve brought on about 10 more sponsors this year and hope the event will continue to grow.”

Registration, which begins early Saturday, is $25 per bike and $5 per passenger, for those who didn’t pre-register, according to Patton. The convoy will leave Post 30, located at 2916 Gillionville Road, at 10 a.m.

A raffle for an AR-15 rifle and other prizes will be part of the event. Tickets are $5 each or 5 tickets for $20.

“This is a labor of love project that has been undertaken to not only recognize and memorialize our fallen brothers and the departments they served, but to reach out personally to the families of those officers to let them know that their loved one was a true hero,” Cheek said. “And (we want to) let them know that their hero will never be forgotten.”

For more information, contact John Patton at (229) 886-1657.