Battle of the Badges helps to fill the summer donation void

Battle of the Badges helps to fill the summer donation void News Staff Tue, 06/11/2024 - 4:51 pm Breckenridge Police Chief Blake Johnson (left) and Stephens County Sheriff Kevin Roach (right) make their donations to the Battle of the Badges Blood Drive that took place June 6-7. The Stephens County Sheriff’s Office one last year’s battle. This year’s winner will be announced at a Breckenridge Rotary Club meeting later this summer. Photo/Mike Williams Breckenridge Fire Department Chief Malcolm Bufkin donates blood Thursday, June 6 as part of the 2024 Battle of the Badges Blood Drive. Photo/Mike Williams By Mike Williams news@breckenridgeamerican.com The annual Battle of the Badges Blood Drive took place last week coordinated by the Breckenridge Rotary Club. Taking place June 6-7 at Texas State Technical College and Stephens Memorial Hospital, the drive provided a friendly competition between the Breckenridge Police Department, Breckenridge Fire Department and the Stephens County Sheriff’s Office while giving community members an opportunity to donate potentially life-saving blood.  After the first day of donations, the drive had 25 donors and a total of 42 donations when the drive ended Friday. Each summer the Battle of the Badges helps Carter BloodCare fill a void in donations that the organization experiences each summer. Carter BloodCare representative Colleen Horan said last month that 25% of all blood donated through Carter comes from high school blood drives during the school year.  “We do supply the blood right here at (Stephens Memorial Hospital) and all of (Dallas-Fort Worth). So there’s a lot of blood that we need to collect,” Horan said. “…When school is out, we struggle. This is why we try to get creative in the summertime.” After signing in at the blood drive, community members were given a ballot to make their donation in honor of BPD, BFD or SCSO. The winning entity is awarded a plaque. The annual event is a joint effort by Carter BloodCare and Rotary Club members Les and Sherry Strickland. Donors received a Battle of the Badges shirt and a $20 digital gift card, which can be redeemed for several businesses online. Each donation comes with the possibility to affect up to three lives.Although the real winners of the Battle of the Badges are the lives impacted by the donations, the entity receiving the most votes will be announced at a Breckenridge Rotary Club meeting later this summer. Last year’s drive was won by the Stephens County Sheriff’s Office. Typically held at TSTC, the Stricklands, in conjunction with the Rotary Club, coordinate up to four blood drives with Carter BloodCare each year. News Log in to post comments