Merle Cooney is known to many as an avid supporter of the Law Enforcement Torch Run® for Special Olympics Wisconsin. He spent three years as an athlete member of the LETR State Committee, from 2006 – 2009.

On January 18, Special Olympics Wisconsin (SOWI) Southeastern Area and Texas Roadhouse in Kenosha teamed up to raise nearly $7,000 during the 2nd annual Guardians of the Flame® Lunch.

Blue and red squad car lights bounced off the polished chrome of the 137 trucks that cruised at 30 m.p.h. up the highway from Richfield to Oshkosh on Saturday, September 26, 2009. Truck horns echoed under bridges lined with athletes waving banners and cheering on the Special Olympics 5th Annual World’s Largest Truck Convoy presented by Quad/Graphics.

On Saturday, September 12th, law enforcement officers from the Fox Valley Area put a new spin on “serving” their community as they set aside their handcuffs and badges and pulled out the menus and serving trays as servers at the Oshkosh Buffalo Wild Wings for a new event called Cops Gone Wild.

Wisconsin Rapids Police Officer Andy Dewitt has been a tireless supporter of the Law Enforcement Torch Run® for more than ten years. Officer Dewitt joined the State Law Enforcement Torch Run Committee in 2002 and he currently serves as the Chair of the Recruiting Committee with the main goal of encouraging new officers to get involved.

For the past 12 years, Officer Richard Dressler has worked as a jailor at the Grant County Sheriff’s Department. Dressler is a great supporter of Special Olympics Wisconsin, participating in the organizations events and promoting its mission to his friends, family, and coworkers.

For nearly 21 years, Jeff Smith has been an outstanding police officer in the West Allis area. And for just as long, he’s stood beside Special Olympics Wisconsin. When Smith first began his career in West Allis, he knew nothing about the Law Enforcement Torch Run® (LETR), but quickly heard about it through coworkers at the Summer Games Softball Throw which is hosted by law enforcement volunteers.

Brad Hompe, Warden of Stanley Correctional Institution in Stanley, WI, has just finished his first year of volunteering for Special Olympics (SO) and the Law Enforcement Torch Run (LETR).  What an impression he has made.  From his very first meeting with Indianhead Area Regional Development Director Andrea Sullivan, Warden Hompe was clear that he was serious about being involved with SO and LETR. And he has been as good as his word. 

Officer Jamie Zynda has been with Ashwaubenon Department of Public Safety since 2004. He began his career in law enforcement with the Wisconsin State Patrol. While there, his training officer asked him to participate in the Final Leg - Officer Zynda has been involved with the Law Enforcement Torch Run® (LETR) ever since.

Attorney General Van Hollen started his career as an Assistant State Public Defender in 1990. He then became an Assistant United States Attorney, the Ashland County District Attorney, the Bayfield County District Attorney, the United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin and currently serves as Wisconsin’s Attorney General.