Special Olympics Georgia Honors Dalton Officer
Tuesday, July 12th, 2022
What started as an assignment became a passion for Dalton Police Department Lieutenant Ricky Long. This month, that passion and dedication led to a statewide honor as Long was recognized as Special Olympics Georgia's Volunteer of the Month.
Long has been a part of the police department and its relationship with the Special Olympics for 22 years. In 2015, Long was assigned to the agency's Support Services Division where he would supervise training and community affairs among other duties. As part of that reassignment, Long was asked to take over as the liaison between the department and Special Olympics Dalton/Whitfield program. That job includes coordination of the department's Law Enforcement Torch Run fundraising in support of Special Olympics Georgia (SOGA). Each year, the fundraising effort of police agencies across Georgia is the single largest fundraising effort in support of SOGA.
At right: Lt. Ricky Long speaks at a Special Olympics event
"Basically when I went downstairs and was assigned to Support Services, [Chief Cason] asked me to take over the Torch Run program, and I said “OK” and from that point forward it’s just snowballed into a bigger and better thing I think," said Lt. Long.
Over the years, the Dalton Police Department has participated to raise money in various ways, including having officers run through the city with the Special Olympics torch to raise pledged donations. In more recent years, the agency has gotten more creative with its fundraising, allowing officers to grow beards in exchange for donations to the fundraiser. Officers have taken part in the "Polar Plunge" event, jumping into frigid waters of Lake Acworth in February to raise money. There have been various other events to raise money, too, all with Lt. Long acting as coordinator. And when it comes time for the fun part, when officers get to "take the field" with local Special Olympics athletes as coaches and helpers at various competitions, Lt. Long helps to coordinate that part, too.
"We start out with the basketball skills at the community center, we help with the bowling competition, and then we do the track and field day which is the best part because we go out there with the athletes when they carry the torch and then we help out with some of the events out there," Long said. "It’s amazing to watch and it’s a great experience."
"We love working with Rick Long," said Lisa Hughey, a Dalton Parks and Rec program manager and the local Special Oympics coordinator. "You call him and tell him what you need and he gets it done... he’s passionate about Special Olympics, he’s passionate about our athletes and doing whatever he can for them. He loves coming to our local events. He loves doing whatever he can to help."
At right: Lt. Ricky Long lifts the Special Olympics torch at the Dalton/Whitfield track and field games along with a Whitfield County deputy and a Special Olympics athlete
Lt. Long's passion for Special Olympics shows in the simple fact that he's still helping to run the department's efforts today now that it's not techinically part of his job after being transferred back out of Support Services and into the Criminal Investigations Division.
"I made the choice (after being reassigned), I told them that I wanted to keep it as long as I could," said Lt. Long. "I’m hoping to find someone to bring into it, a younger officer, to get them more involved but right now it’s a passion I have and you know... I love it, it’s a great thing to help these kids and adults who wouldn’t be able to participate in sports like you and I do, it helps them to be able to do so."
Dalton was one of the stops for the Special Olympics USA Torch Run torch relay from Illinois to the USA Games in Orlando in May. At a pep rally for that event, Lt. Long was honored for his dedication to the athletes. That was followed this month by the announcement that Long was being honored as the state's Volunteer of the Month.
"Ricky's dedication has truly led to a strong sense of partnership with the local athletes, volunteers, and team Special Olympics Georgia," the organization said in their announcement of the award.
