What a wonderful interruption we had today. Drum Roll please! Sheriff Robert Hardwick, Captain Tres Edenfield (Northeast District and our partner for Safety Town) and Captain Bill Werle (Northwest District) paid a surprise visit to Safety Town today! Yes, The Sheriff! No..., Sheriff Hardwick isn't teaching the campers a dance in this picture; they are working on left and right, of course! Look left, right, and left again before crossing the street.
After exploring Safety Town camp while the children were in their different rooms, we asked Sheriff Hardwick to speak to the campers in a group and he agreed. So we called all the campers together for an impromptu lesson, and Q&A with the Sheriff. Kids were engaged, asking questions, sharing answers and many got to sit on the steps with him for a chat! The kids have been learning about 9-1-1 and that seemed a prominent comment today from the kids. Perhaps SJCSO may receive some unexpected 9-1-1 calls soon. Don't worry- your child has been taught if he/she accidentally dials 9-1-1, not to hang up. Just speak and say it was an accident. You may want to review with your child they shouldn't 'practice' dialing it live. : )
The Sheriff spent a significant amount of time talking with the campers. They seemed to enjoy it and I would say the campers were not shy. There were great questions and, as already mentioned, great answers to his question about what they are learning. It is truly wonderful to receive the support of the St. Johns County Sheriff's Office! They have been a significant partner in letting us bring Safety Town to our community.
I'd like to let you know about something special the Sheriff did today. Besides thanking our teen Team Leaders for volunteering their time and talents towards your children to participate in Safety Town, he took the time to talk with Marissa Harried and Madison Purdy, our teen Co-Founders, away from the crowd. He awarded them a special Sheriff's coin for their work, effort and dedication to Safety Town and ultimately, to serving your children! Marissa and Madison have been working in the Activity and Craft Rooms, doing pre-camp and post-camp work and have been involved in the planning of Safety Town since we chose to launch St. Johns County Safety Town in January. What an exciting acknowledgement!
One more comment. Yesterday before closing we explained that this morning after drop off, the budding safety citizens would walk down the hall by themselves and go find their specific building (Sheriff's station, blue house, Public market or school house). Wow! Did your child have a purpose and a mission and each child fulfilled it! Well done. This is designed to get your child ready for kindergarten. Thank you for trusting us with your child and we can't wait to see them tomorrow!