Cops wait tables at Red Lobster for Special Olympics
BY PAUL COLLINS
I III CHRONK I I
About 11:30 Friday morning, offi
cers from the Winston-Salem Police
i Department and the Forsyth County
' Sheriff's Department were greeting
customers at Red Lobster. 1690 West
brook Plaza Drive, telling them about
Special Olympics and helping serve
them - to raise money for Special
Olympics. Cops & Lobsters is an
annual fund-raising event organized by
>!Red Lobster with local law enforce
;ment agencies and Special Olympics
?-Jround the United States "and Canada.
A news release says that the 2(X)2
?*?iimpaign marks the eighth year of the
>Cops & Lobsters fund-raiser. Since it
*.|>egan in 1995, the alliance between
>ttew enforcement and Red Lobster has
v'taised more than $6 million in tips for
'?Jpcal Special Olympics programs and
?Trite Law Enforcement Torch Run.
In 2001, Cops & Lobsters raised
Si.2 million in tips for Special
" Olympics. The Red Lobster at 1690
Westbrook Plaza Drive contributed
$4,215 to this total.
Steve Blemings, a sergeant with
the Winston-Salem Police Department,
said Friday. "1 coordinate all the local
fund-raising efforts for the law
enforcement side of what is called Law
Enforcement Torch Run for Special
Olympics. We're the single largest
contributors to Special Olympics in the
. world...."
? Besides Cops & Lobsters. Blem
, tngs said, "we do Polar Plunges. Guil
. ford County just had a Polar Plunge,
where they plunged in ice-cold water
in a lake. (We do a) lot of golf tourna
pients throughout the state. One of our
big (projects) is we rattle a Harley
. Davidson off at the fair every year; ...
net profit is close to $26.(XK). In the
past, we've done things like billboard
, (sits), where we go out in the middle of
the winter up on a billboard or some
type of rooftop. We also assist with the
.Games' local needs (and the) state
Games. We have a very, very active
part with Special Olympics, not only
the money we raise but the awareness
we raise for them.
. . "We deposit the money (raised)
directly in their (Special Olympics')
. accounts. There's no middle man. ..
, . "We probably have about 700 ath
letes just in Forsyth County. That's a
great deal. Statewide I think we have
- ?lose to 26,000 or 27.000 athletes....It
costs a lot of money to drive those pro
grams. Especially a.lot of the smaller
counties that don't (have)
programs...they're able to work and
budget money from the money that we
raise. So we're not only helping people
here, but we're helping the statewide
effort...Besides local fund-raising
efforts we do here, 10 percent of w hat
we do as law enforcement officers
stays here.
"We also have a small percentage
that actually goes to new programs.
Let's say a county doesn't have an
equestrian program. We'll go ahead
and ... pledge them some money so
that they can start their program. We're
very much about growing.
"It's estimated that about I percent
of the population has mental retarda
tion. We are nowhere reaching that
segment, or that amount of people. By
doing this, we try to get more people
involved, bring these people to where
we can get some assistance, get them
integrated into Special Olympics.
"Special Olympics isn't really even
just about athletics....The slogan a cou
ple years ago was 'Training for Life.'
We try to integrate them into our soci
ety; make them useful, productive
members of our society. Back in the
'40s and '50s. these people were insti
tutionalized....Special Olympics, what
it's been able to do is bring them into
our society as taxpayers, gainfully
employed people. It's really made a
big difference for them."
Pam Hockenbury. one of the man
agers of Red Lobster at 1690 West
brook Plaza Drive, said Friday that
officers would be at that restaurant
from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. that day dur
ing the Cops & Lobsters fund-raiser.
Explaining why the restaurant takes
part in the project. Hockenbury said.
"It helps us get involved with things
going on the community, get our name
out in the community, and it's for a
good cause."
The restaurant fed the officers who
volunteered -If, eir time for Cops &
Lobsters.
Josh Best, a Winston-Salem police
officer who was-participating in Cops
& Lobsters, said, "It's a good cause,
for Special Olympics....There are a lot
of Special Olympics kids that live
here."
Another officer participating. Sgt.
Marty Clinard of the Forsyth County
Sheriff's Department, said. "We'll
(officers will) be able to greet individ
uals. tell them about Special Olympics
and what Red Lobster does for Special
Olympics and has been for the last 15
years. We'll let them know what the
community does in the area of support.
Wake Forest University allows us to
use their campus to hold our Forsyth
County Games there. Tl\emoneys
raised go to the State Games. State
Games are held in Raleigh ... at North
Carolina State University campus.
Last year 1 believe the stale raised
about $1.2 million for Special
Olympics. The money we raise for the
state. 10 percent of that comes back to
the county we work in. So whatever
we raise here today, 10 percent of it
will stay here in Forsyth County for
our local Games."
Diane Henderson, a canine officer
w ith the Sheriff's Department, and her
husband. Robert, happened to be eat
ing at the restaurant Friday. Diane
Henderson said of Cops & Lobsters.
"They spend a lot of time and effort
raising money for the Special
Olympics. I think it's a good thing."
Robert Henderson agreed: "It's a
very good program....They do spend a
lot of hours out here, raising money in
the communities."
A news release says Red Lobster
has been a supporter of Special
Olympics for 15 years and is proud to
have a hiring initiative to provide
employment opportunities for people
who are disabled. Special Olympics is
a year-round sports training and com
petition program for children and
adults with some form of mental retar
dation.
, r. . ? . , Photos b% Pa
Left to right: Robert and Diane Henderson, Sgt. Marty Clinard and James Riley, a server at Red Lobster
From left to right, Sgt. Steve Blemings of the Winston-Salem Police Depart
ment (shown at right holding a lobster), Officer Josh Best of the Winston
Salem Police Department (left) and Sgt. Marty Clinard (center) of the
Forsyth County Sheriff's Department.
Banking exec to speak
SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE
Benjamin S. Ruffin. presi
dent of the Ruffin Group, and
chairman of M&F Bancorp.
Inc.. and Lee Johnson. Jr., presi
dent of M&F Bancorp. Inc.. and
president
and CEO
o f
Mechan
ics and
Farmers
Bank,
will be
keynote
speakers
during
"Mechan
ics and
Farmers Bank Day" at Winston
Salem State University's School
of Business and Economics on
April 10. The event will be held
at 10 a.m. in room 136 of
WSSU's R. J. Reynolds Center.
President of the Ruffin
Group of Winston-Salem. Ruffin
also chairs the University of
North Carolina Board of Gover
nors. First elected as chair in
"1998. Ruffin has been a member
of the UNC Board of Governors
since 1991. He retired as vice
president of corporate affairs at
R.J Reynolds Tobacco Co. in
-1999. Prior to joining RJR. Ruf
fin was vice president and spe
cial assistant to the president of
North Carolina Mutual Life
Insurance Co. He had previously
worked as a special assistant to
North Carolina Governor James
B. Hunt. Jr.
Ruffin's civic activities
include serv ing on the boards of
^North Carolina Mutual Life
Insurance Company. J.A. Jones.
Inc.. the National Business
League, the Congressional Black
Caucus Foundation, the National
Urban League, and the NC Insti
tute for Minority Economic
Development. He is a Golden
Heritage member of the NAACP
and serves as chairman of the
corporate roundtable of the
National Black Caucus of State
Legislators.
Ruffin holds a bachelor's
degree in education from North
Carolina Central University and
ajjyaster's degree in social work
front the University of North
Carolina at Chapel Hill. He
holds honorary doctorate
degrees from North Carolina
Central University, North Car
olina A&T State University.
Edward Waters College. Eliza
beth City State University. Win
Nton-Salem State University and
Fayetteville State University.
Johnson became president
and COO of the Durham-bused
bank and president of its holding
company in October 2000: he
was named CEO in May 2001.
Johnson began his career with
M&F Bank as a teller. He
worked his way through the
Bank's ranks, most recently
holding positions as executive
vice president, chief financial
officer and financial group exec
utive. His promotion to CEO
was the result of a unanimous
decision by the Bank's board of
directors.
He is currently a member of
Catalyst Corporate Outreach
Committee of the Triangle Com
munity Foundation, a trustee of
the Home Mission Foundation, a
trustee of Durham Technical
Community College, a member
of the board of the Durham
Workforce Partnership, and a
member of the board of the
Durham Chamber of Commerce.
Johnson received his B.A. in
business management and eco
nomics front Shaw University in
Raleigh. He was a member of
the charter class of Advanced
Management Banking, spon
sored by the N.C. Bankers Asso
ciation. and the Mid-Manage
ment Banking Program, both of
which were held at the Universi
ty of North Carolina at Chapel
Hill. Additionally, he is a gradu
ate of the prestigious Stonier
Graduate School of Banking at
Rutgers University in New Jer
sey.
Johnson
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