Frederick Optimist Club’s Fish with a Cop
Pictured from left: (bottom row) Maddison Hawk, Devin Melchor, Chief Jason Lando, Ayden Merritt, Ahzjae White, Iker Lopez, Steven Martinez, Zaiden Cox, Eli Boggs; (second row) OFC. Maggie Lee, SGT. Rebecca Carrado, OFC. Joe Constantine, DEP. Amber Owens, CPL. Jestin Joseph, OFC. James Clark, DEP. Jesse Patterson, DEP. Nicholas Thomas; (top row) James Lewis, OFC. Nathaniel Minnick, Todd Lewis, CPL. Josh Keeney, SGT. Brad Lowe, DeMacian McKinnie, OFC. Will Faith, and Kaymen Jackson.
Pictured from left: (bottom row) Logan Snyder, Atlas Black, Jessie Fauble, Justin Anderson, Braxden Lovejoy, Ashleigh Boggs, Bentlee McDaniel; (second row) FSGT. Jim Egros, SGT. Garrett VonStein, SGT. Rich Kulina, SGT. Adam Matthai, SGT. Todd Hill, TFC. Jason Rickard, TR. Gabriel Berger, CPL. Josh White, Delante Huskey; (top row) CAPT. Matthew Lynch, Stephen Lowe, Chief Kevin Grunwell, Brett George, TFC. Jonathan Deater, Austin Vernon, TFC. Timothy Coss, and Max McFalls.
The Optimist Club of Frederick held it’s 13th Annual Fish with a Cop program on Saturday, June 4, at the Camp Airy Pond in Thurmont. There were 25 boys and girls from across Frederick County who took part in the program. There were 25 officers from the Sheriff’s Department, Maryland State Police, Frederick City Police, Brunswick Police, and the Natural Resource Police who participated in the program this year.
The officers picked up the children from their homes and transported them to the pond in the officer’s police cars. They were then given a Zebco combo rod and reel, along with tackle from the Optimist Club. The officers worked with the kids on their fishing skills, along with a better relationship with law enforcement. When the fishing was done, the Optimist Club held a shore lunch, which included fresh fried trout, grilled hotdogs, and ice cream sundaes with all the fixings. The officers then took the children back home.
The following sponsors contributed to this program: Giant Food, Wegman’s, Weis, Safeway, Costco, The Brotherhood of the Jungle Cock for stocking the pond with trout, Camp Airy for use of their pond, and Frederick County elementary schools. A special thanks goes out to Dustin Construction Company for their generous cash donation, which was a big help in purchasing the fishing equipment for the children. Thanks to these sponsors and police officers who volunteered their time, the children had a very memorable experience. We hope that in a small way this connects the children in a positive way with law enforcement and the great outdoors. Thank you again to all who helped with this program.
For more information, contact Craig and Pat Taliaferro at 301-663-8116.
