Back the Blue Event Raises $7,500

The first-ever Back the Blue fundraising event in Willow Springs took place on Saturday, September 19 at Booster Field. Organized by Krista Thomas, wife of Willow Springs Police Department’s Officer John Thomas, the event featured craft and product vendors, a silent auction, and grilled burgers and hotdogs available for a donation. 

Earlier in the week, the food trucks that were originally scheduled to be present cancelled their participation in the event, and Mrs. Thomas described the outpouring of community support that made food at the event possible. 

G&W Foods in Willow Springs donated almost all the groceries needed for the grill. Town and Country in Willow Springs provided all the drinks. An attendee at the event donated pizzas to be sold. Adam Webb, firefighter and School Board member, loaned his mobile barbeque grill for the event. Webb was manning the grill until he was called out to fight a fire. Officer Thomas took over the cooking. 100% of the proceeds from the food sales went to benefit the WSPD, Mrs. Thomas said. 

Attendance at the event throughout the day was “steady,” Mrs. Thomas said. 

Several of the vendors present were donating portions of their day’s proceeds to the cause, and at the end of the day, the WSPD walked away with an additional $7,500 in their department’s budget. This sum includes the $5,000 donation made by Coastal FMC, as well as the donations previously collected from other Willow Springs businesses and individuals. 

Chief Bryan Hogan reported the funds raised at the event will go towards providing body/in-car camera systems for the department’s officers.