Santa Has Lots of Important Friends
The Purcellville Gazette [December 11, 2009]
by Ben Weber — Visitors to Leesburg’s Target store on Saturday may have thought the President of the United States was about to arrive due to all the security. Law enforcement officers from the Fairfax and Loudoun Sheriff’s Department, Purcellville Police Department, Homeland Security, U.S. Border Patrol, DMV, U.S. Customs, and more descended on Target for one purpose only…to help Santa!
Over 50 officials from law enforcement were out in force to participate in the Annual Santa Cop program arranged by the Purcellville Police Department and the Dulles Lodge of the Fraternal Order of Police. Members of the Lodge collected over $12,000 to give away to Loudoun area youth. Fifty-eight children each received a $200 gift card from the FOP to spend as they wish. A uniformed official escorted each child, without the parents, on a fun filled few hours shopping spree. According to the FOP, this allows the child to get to see another side of a uniformed officer, while also allowing them to spend their $200 freely.
One Deputy from Loudoun, Mack Halley, who was escorting Dana of Lovettsville, asked a Target “Elf” if she knew what a Bratz Doll was, the Elf responded that she knew what they were to which Deputy Halley, said with a nervous tone to his voice, “Please help me..” Deputy Halley and Dana both learned a lot together and both were excited, however, Dana may have been more excited by her new bike. “My Mom said that a new bike would be over $100, but I found one for ONLY $60!” said the beaming young shopper. Officer Elassal of the Purcellville Police Department helped Anastasia pick out one of Target’s largest stuffed animals. When asked what she would name it, she said, “If it is a girl, I will name it Eva and if it is a boy, I will name it Justin.” It was later determined to be a boy.
The morning’s shopping spree was not all about toys. Some children were spotted purchasing clothes for either themselves or a sibling. One 13-year-old boy was spotted with two talking baby dolls, when asked why he was purchasing two, he said, “I have two little sisters and I don’t want them to fight over the dolls.”
After all the children spent their allotted funds and the officers regrouped in more ways than one, all the children and Santa’s helpers headed off to IHOP where they enjoyed a hearty breakfast to help them top of the rest of their morning. Read full story....
DIRECTOR’S REPORT
- President - Ian Griffiths
- Vice President - Ken Fognano
- Vice President - Bob Degroot
- Treasurer - Larry Pangle
- Director - Martin Kloeden
- Secretary - John Ohrnberger
- Sergeant Of Arms - Dan Farrel
MEMBERSHIP
The Lodge has 229 active members. We have added 44 new members since our last report.
ACTIVITIES
- The Lodge sent two representatives to the last Rally Day in 2009.
- The Lodge sent two representatives to the “Leadership that Matters” training seminar in Nashville, TN in February 2009.
- Our President attended the National FOP Conference in Long Beach, CA in August 2009.
EVENTS
- We held our second annual “All Hands and Officer Installation” Dinner at Merones Catering on February 27, 2009 with 45 attendees, up from 22 in 2008.
- We participated in the Leesburg and Purcellville July 4th parades.
- The Lodge held our second annual Membership Picnic on July 25, 2009 at Algonkian Regional Park.
- The Lodge sponsored the NOVA Coalition of FOP Lodges Ice Cream Social in support of then candidate for Governor Bob McDonnell.
- We participated in the Sterling Columbus Day parade.
- We participated in the Leesburg Halloween parade.
- We participated in the Leesburg Christmas parade on December 12, 2009.
- SANTA COP 2009 was another great success! Sixty One under-privileged local children were treated to a morning of shopping at the Leesburg Super Target escorted by Santa Cop officers representing many of the departments that comprise our membership (Purcellville PD, Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office, DMV and ABC Special Agents, U.S. Customs and Border Patrol, CIA Police and Secret Service). Breakfast followed at the local IHOP where Santa & Mrs. Claus were a big hit. Local press coverage was extensive; please see the Lodge web site for a link to the article in the Purcellville Gazette.
UPCOMING EVENTS
- We will be hosting our first annual Lodge family members Christmas Party December 22, 2009 at the 1757 Golf Club.
- Third annual “All Hands and Officer Installation Dinner” will be held on February 28, 2010.
The Lodge’s web site is located at www.vafop.com and is continually updated with the latest news and events of our lodge.
Meetings are held on the second Wednesday of each month at Merone’s Buen Appetito restaurant located in Sterling, VA. See the web site for details.
Respectfully Submitted,
Martin P. Kloeden
Director
Loudoun-Dulles Lodge 69
