Pancakes and Harleys for C.O.P.S. and Heroes

What do you get when you coordinate Duluth Kiwanis, Duluth Merchants Association, and Duluth High School Key Club with Duluth Police on a chilly Saturday morning? You get a warm and fuzzy family-style breakfast and a motorcycle ride that turned on your heart light.

Fresh brewed coffee and welcome heat from the grill energized early rising volunteers who gathered at Bunten Road Park for their marching orders. 

Kiwanis members Jim Barns, Bruce Saarela, and George Rhode, along with Duluth Merchants Association leaders Sunny Ramsay and Jim Johnson, huddled to organize. Several hundred mouths would soon be lining up for pancakes, sausage, juice, milk, and coffee. 

Breakfast was followed by a three-hour traffic-stopping motorcycle ride around Lake Lanier and a salute to the new Living Honorarium on the Duluth Town Green. Door prizes, commemorative T-shirts, and lunch at local restaurants capped this positive community event. 

Some really neat things happened in the process that morning. In this coordinated effort between several Duluth organizations, money and community awareness were raised to support the Duluth C.O.P.S program and to pay for lighting the Living Honorarium. Over a hundred combined volunteers got up at Oh-Dark Thirty on a Saturday morning, and managed a smile for the cause. A gazillion phone calls and handshakes bonded all participants. Police officers volunteered their time to escort bikers.

And now a little background…

C.O.P.S. stands for Community Oriented Police Services. The purpose of C.O.P.S. is to create a police/community partnership to reduce the likelihood of crime occurring in your area. This is accomplished by many techniques. including the training of residents on how to resolve neighborhood problems.

The “Living Honorarium” at the Duluth Town Green honors our living heroes, those who serve us and put their lives on the line for us every day. An “Honorarium” honors the living whereas a “Memorial” honors the dead. The city of Duluth, GA, is alive and well, thank you, and so are its firefighters, police, emergency medical services providers, and military personnel.   

Gwinnett Commissioner Shirley Lasseter envisioned the Living Honorarium that shines a positive light for those who serve us now and deserve our gratitude today. “We have always been a patriotic community," said Lasseter. "On Memorial Day and Veterans Day we proudly line our streets with thousands of American flags honoring our deceased veterans. Now we want to show our gratitude and put our hands together in applause for those that can hear it."

Kiwanis is a global organization of volunteers dedicated to changing the world, one child and one community at a time. The club is involved in local fundraising events and helping organizations that are children-focused in the community by providing grants and volunteering for local service projects. The club also sponsors programs in schools provides an opportunity for individuals to volunteer their time in the community where they live and work.

Key Club International is a service program for high school students. It is a student-led organization whose goal is to teach leadership through serving others. The Duluth High School Key Club is sponsored by a local Kiwanis Club.

The Duluth Merchants Association (DMA) was conceived with the idea that business people can best accomplish together what no one business could do alone. It is an association where members support the economic interests of all members and the community as well. The DMA, in cooperation with the City of Duluth, works to attract and keep new businesses in Duluth.  DMA members are encouraged to buy from other members and promote one another whenever possible, thus providing an instant customer base and marketing force for its members. This helps maintain a sound economic base for the Duluth community.

According to R. D. Belcher, Chief of Duluth Police: "Our [Duluth] police officers are some of the best trained in the state. The Duluth Police Department is committed to enhancing the quality of life of our citizens by protecting and serving our public. Through fair yet vigorous enforcement of laws and education of the public our police department expects to maintain Duluth’s safety and quality of life."

This Pancake/Ride event was a "light bulb moment."  In today's economy where businesses and people are stretched, worthy events can still find success when synergistic groups unite their resources, and focus on a common goal. We satisfied hunger, put on a successful event, honored local heroes, and lifted spirits. We think we will see more events like this.