Dougherty County Sheriff’s Office holds 7th annual Unity in the Community BBQ

ALBANY — The Dougherty County Sheriff’s Office cooked up a good time for area residents at its 7th annual Unity in the Community BBQ held at Tallulah Massey Park Saturday.

“When the sheriff was elected back in 2008 and took office in 2009, he wanted to bring the community closer together,” said Lt. Terron Hayes of the Dougherty County Sheriff’s Office. “He adopted the concept of building unity in the community and that’s what he has been about, building unity among the citizens and his constituents of Dougherty County.

“The sheriff wanted to try and do something that would give the community the opportunity to sit down with law enforcement to bridge that gap and make things where people would be comfortable to come and eat with us, exchange information or ask questions. The sheriff really wants to be accessible to the community, so we have been doing this now for seven years.”

According to Hayes, a host of individuals within the community make the event a success through the donation of funds and products.

“This event costs the citizens of Albany and Dougherty County zero dollars,” said Hayes. “A lot of us even come out of our pockets to help put it on with the Sheriff’s Office. We really do a lot of things to benefit and give back to this community. Giving back is what Sheriff Sproul is all about.”

By noon on Saturday a large crowd had gathered at the East Albany park to enjoy the festivities, which included hot dogs, hamburgers, barbecue chicken, a DJ, jumpy-castles for the kids, horse-back rides and even a game of horseshoes, of which the sheriff remains the reigning champion.

Raffle tickets were also on sale and prizes included several cakes, baked by the sheriff himself, as well as a 50 inch flat screen T.V.

“I feel real good about the turn out so far,” said Sproul. “I am anticipating several hundred people to be here if not more than that. We are raffling off some cakes that I’ve actually baked, my mother-in-law baked and my wife helped us with.

Sproul said the proceeds for the raffle will be used to fund his annual Shop with the Sheriff program, where the Sheriff’s office takes a group of disadvantaged children shopping for holiday treats they wouldn’t otherwise be receiving.

“We have a T.V. we are raffling off and all of the proceeds from the raffle go to our Shop with the Sheriff program in December,” said Sproul. “So, it stays right here locally in the community. We tell everyone that if you haven’t invested in your community, then invest through this, because it is going to help kids at Christmastime.”

Sproul also had praise for all of the volunteers who helped make the cook out a success each year.

“The men and women behind the scenes have put a lot effort into making this event work,” he said. “We really want to show the community how much we appreciate them and to show them that if we all bond together, we make a stronger community.

“Everybody’s witnessed the events over the last few years on T.V. of violence, shootings, marching, riots. But we have been very fortunate here in Albany and Dougherty County to have so many agencies, non-profit groups and people working together. This event is just a way to bring people together, let them meet the men and women of the Sheriff’s Office, see the other side of us and know that we appreciate them, the community.”