(June 8, 2017) The 32nd annual Maryland Law Enforcement Torch Run raced through Worcester County on Monday, stopping first at the Boardwalk in Ocean City before busing west for a pep rally at Worcester Preparatory School in Berlin.
The event has raised more than $35 million for Special Olympics Maryland in a little over three decades, according to Sgt. Dennis G. Eade of the Ocean City Police Department.
Eade, speaking before a crowd of several hundred Worcester Prep students in Berlin, said participants gathered at about 8 a.m. that morning at 27th Street in Ocean City and ran the length of the Boardwalk.
He was a little hoarse afterward.
“We yelled as loud as we could and woke everybody up in the hotels – especially the senior weekers – and we got everybody up and got them off the beach. We had a really nice run and beautiful weather this morning,” Eade said.
By about 10 a.m. in Berlin, clouds had moved in and a light drizzle started. Still, dozens of runners gathered in the front parking lot of the school, along with two officers on horseback and a pair of all-terrain vehicles.
Eade said the pep rally at Worcester Prep was a four-or-five-year tradition.
“If you want to know what Special Olympics is, it gives people with intellectual disabilities the opportunity to gain the benefits from sport and competition,” he said. “I know we’ve got a lot of athletes here amongst this crowd that probably do sports and get those benefits – we provide that … Law enforcement raises the vast majority of funds so Special Olympics can exist.
“The people that you see in the torch run shirts this morning are all police officers,” Eade continued. “We brought our horses for you all to see, we’ve got some four-wheelers if you’re into that, [and] we’ve got all our cars and motorcycles parked up there. These are state troopers, these are Worcester County sheriffs, they’re Ocean City police officers [and] Berlin police officers – there’s officers from across Worcester County and we all join to carry that torch.”
He said Worcester police would hand the torch to officers in Salisbury. By the close of the event, on Friday, the torch run will culminate in Towson.
“But it all starts in Ocean City and Berlin,” Eade said. “We’ve got the prettiest leg by far. We get to run the beach and everything else.”
State Police Lt. Earl Starner has been involved in the annual fundraiser since 2001. He said theme of the torch run each year is “just one more.”
“We try and grow the event each year,” he said. “Show up this year and come back next year and bring somebody with you.”
He said his police barrack in Berlin raised about $700 in T-shirt sales in 2017. Fundraising is ongoing and Starner said the easiest way to donate was through the Special Olympics Maryland website, www.somd.org.
On top of helping what he called a very worthy cause, Starner said the torch run was a popular – and very visible – outreach for local police.
“Not that this community needs reminding, but I like to be able to remind people that law enforcement are the good guys,” he said. “We’re good citizens first and good police officers, and they kind of go hand-in-hand together. It’s bonding with the community and it’s always a good opportunity to join with our law enforcement partners here in Worcester County.
“We’re all wearing the same shirt and the same uniform today, so I love that part of it,” Starner added.
The event has raised more than $35 million for Special Olympics Maryland in a little over three decades, according to Sgt. Dennis G. Eade of the Ocean City Police Department.
Eade, speaking before a crowd of several hundred Worcester Prep students in Berlin, said participants gathered at about 8 a.m. that morning at 27th Street in Ocean City and ran the length of the Boardwalk.
He was a little hoarse afterward.
“We yelled as loud as we could and woke everybody up in the hotels – especially the senior weekers – and we got everybody up and got them off the beach. We had a really nice run and beautiful weather this morning,” Eade said.
By about 10 a.m. in Berlin, clouds had moved in and a light drizzle started. Still, dozens of runners gathered in the front parking lot of the school, along with two officers on horseback and a pair of all-terrain vehicles.
Eade said the pep rally at Worcester Prep was a four-or-five-year tradition.
“If you want to know what Special Olympics is, it gives people with intellectual disabilities the opportunity to gain the benefits from sport and competition,” he said. “I know we’ve got a lot of athletes here amongst this crowd that probably do sports and get those benefits – we provide that … Law enforcement raises the vast majority of funds so Special Olympics can exist.
“The people that you see in the torch run shirts this morning are all police officers,” Eade continued. “We brought our horses for you all to see, we’ve got some four-wheelers if you’re into that, [and] we’ve got all our cars and motorcycles parked up there. These are state troopers, these are Worcester County sheriffs, they’re Ocean City police officers [and] Berlin police officers – there’s officers from across Worcester County and we all join to carry that torch.”
He said Worcester police would hand the torch to officers in Salisbury. By the close of the event, on Friday, the torch run will culminate in Towson.
“But it all starts in Ocean City and Berlin,” Eade said. “We’ve got the prettiest leg by far. We get to run the beach and everything else.”
State Police Lt. Earl Starner has been involved in the annual fundraiser since 2001. He said theme of the torch run each year is “just one more.”
“We try and grow the event each year,” he said. “Show up this year and come back next year and bring somebody with you.”
He said his police barrack in Berlin raised about $700 in T-shirt sales in 2017. Fundraising is ongoing and Starner said the easiest way to donate was through the Special Olympics Maryland website, www.somd.org.
On top of helping what he called a very worthy cause, Starner said the torch run was a popular – and very visible – outreach for local police.
“Not that this community needs reminding, but I like to be able to remind people that law enforcement are the good guys,” he said. “We’re good citizens first and good police officers, and they kind of go hand-in-hand together. It’s bonding with the community and it’s always a good opportunity to join with our law enforcement partners here in Worcester County.
“We’re all wearing the same shirt and the same uniform today, so I love that part of it,” Starner added.