DADE CITY – More than 100 people turned out Sept. 11 in downtown Dade City to witness the unveiling of a memorial honoring law enforcement officers who had lost their lives in the line of duty.
The ceremony on the grounds of the Historic Pasco County Courthouse was the result of nine years of fundraising efforts, according to attorney Craig Laporte, who was one of the speakers at the event.
Laporte, who had been a Pasco Sheriff’s Office deputy in the 1970s and 1980s, said he understood the stress that families of law enforcement officers experienced when their loved ones were working. He added that the memorial is a good thing for families to relate to.
“Everybody chipped in to help to make this possible,” Ronald E. “Ron” Oakley said, adding that the memorial “was very much worth the wait.”
Oakley, who is chairman of the Pasco County Board of County Commissioners, was another one of the speakers at the event. He represents District 1, which is located in eastern Pasco County.
“We’re not only honoring those who gave their lives . . . we’re honoring their families as well,” Sheriff Chris Nocco said.
He added the memorial would be a place families of fallen officers could find solitude and receive God’s comfort.
Nocco noted he was at The Pentagon in Washington, D.C., on the night of Sept. 11, 2001, when terrorists had attacked it along with both towers of the World Trade Center in New York.
The demand for the memorial had been so great that it was actually ordered six years before the Pasco County Fallen Law Enforcement Memorial and Benefit Foundation Inc. had enough money to pay for it, according to Laporte.
Several donors combined their efforts to contribute $100,000 in a week and a half, Oakley said.
The final cost of the memorial hasn’t been disclosed but it was completely funded through charitable contributions to Pasco County Fallen Law Enforcement Memorial and Benefit Foundation Inc., which is a 501c3 nonprofit.
Members of the foundation and its supporters were reportedly inspired to create the memorial after having seen one in Polk County honoring law enforcement officers who had died there in the line of duty.
Brian Brown, the sheriff’s office’s chaplain, said a prayer at the beginning of the ceremony. Part of what he said was that fallen law enforcement officers had put their lives on the line so that others might live.
Other things that occurred before the unveiling of the memorial included Jennifer Ferguson singing the National Anthem and Dade City Police Chief James Walters leading attendees in saying the Pledge of Allegiance to the American Flag.
District 4 County Commissioner Lisa Yeager read a list of donors who had contributed toward the cost of the memorial.
Donors recognized for their contributions were Adam Smith Enterprises, Barbara L. Wilhite P.A., BRW Contracting, Deeb Construction & Development, Deeb Family Homes, Heidt Design, JDR Properties of Pasco, members of the Maggard Family, Make A Difference (a 501c3 nonprofit), Pasco County Property Appraiser Mike Wells, Pasco Office Park, PCS Civil, Randy & Shannon Blankenship, Ronald E. Oakley, Santo Carollo, Floria Commissioner of Agriculture Wilton Simpson, Sunrise Consulting Group, Tew & Associates, Thomas B. Dobies Funeral Home, Waist-Aid Systems and Wiregrass Ranch Foundation.
