BTBNC Chairman Gadi Adelman presents a memorial flag in honor of Knightdale Police Officer Ryan Hayworth, along with a check for funds raised, to Ryan's parents. Pictured from left to right are Dee Sams ( BTBNC Event Coordinator), Lisa Naylor (mother of Ryan Hayworth), Tim Hayworth (father of Ryan Hayworth), and Gadi Adelman ( BTBNC Chairman/Media Relations)
We apologize for the delay in getting this Newsletter out, some of the BTBNC staff have been sick and we are just now getting back to normal. The New Year was off to a bad start when we suddenly lost a State Trooper. On January 3rd Trooper John Horton, a 15-year veteran of the NC State Highway Patrol, was killed on duty after being struck by another Trooper's vehicle during a traffic stop in Rutherford County, NC. Trooper John Horton made a traffic stop Monday night, Jan. 3, of a motorcyclist around 9 p.m. and called for back-up. His brother, fellow Trooper James "Nick" Horton, responded, but lost control of his vehicle and crashed into both his brother and the motorcyclist. Both the motorcyclist, Dusty Beck, and Trooper John Horton were struck and killed. BTBNC set up a GoFundMe which at the time this writing this newsletter has raised $91,996 of it's $100,000.00 goal. Please consider donating to the Trooper John Horton fund. https://gofund.me/94994db7 or https://www.gofundme.com/f/benefit-for-family-of-trooper-john-horton/ Sunday, January 9th was Law Enforcement Appreciation Day. Our #WeSupportYou cards have been a huge seller and we actually sold out of our first batch! Our new order just arrived so be sure to order yours: https://www.backthebluenc.org/product-page/wesupportyou-cards
These 2 x 3.5 inch cards have the perfect message and are easy to share with the officers in your community. They are the same size as a business card so you can keep them in your car, wallet, or purse. Hand them out in person or leave them on the windshield of any patrol vehicle. The cards are sold in sets of 50 and we promise you will make their day! On Wednesday, January 19th Back The Blue NC staff members held a presentation ceremony at Knightdale Police Department to honor Officer Ryan Hayworth (EOW 10/17/2021). Chairman Gadi Adelman along with BTBNC representatives Tammy Richards (Central LEO Liaison) and Dee Sams (Event Coordinator) presented a check for $26,500 and a memorial plaque to the family of Fallen Officer Ryan Hayworth. Knightdale Police Deputy Chief Soto also received a memorial plaque on behalf of the Department. Special attendees included Tim Hayworth (father of Ryan Hayworth), Lisa Naylor (mother of Ryan Hayworth), Deputy Chief Soto, Captain Danny Phillips, Training Officer Cody Hagler, Lt. Travis Price, and Lt. Steven Williams. After the presentation, attendees were graciously received and treated to lunch by PRIME Barbecue in Knightdale, NC. We would like to give our host a special thank you for your kindness and generosity to our team and the Knightdale Police Department. January 24th we added new tee shirts to our on-line store. You are all familiar with our extremely popular BTBNC Logo shirts that have "Defend The Police" on the back. We have now added a new line of tee shirts with our same great logo on the front and our mission statement on the back. Now you have your choice when buying our shirts, "Defend The Police" or "Giving Back To Those Who Are Willing To Give Their All'. Buy one of each and wear it proudly! https://www.backthebluenc.org/product-page/btbnc-mission-statement-tee Saturday January 29th BTBNC partnered with The Blood Connection to host a Blood Drive in Memory of CMPD Officer Mia Goodwin. For every blood donor who attended that day The Blood Connection donated $20 to the family of Officer Goodwin. The event was held at Elevation Church in the University City area of Charlotte where Mia and her family attended. We are pleased to announce that even with the bad weather and threat of snow that day, 27 units of blood were collected! Thank you to all who participated. Lastly, please remember we are always looking for volunteers as we are 100% non-profit and all our staff members are volunteers. Visit our website (we have a new link, shorter and easier) btbnc.org and the regular link backthebluenc.org still works as well. While at the website be sure to click on the 10-33 Assistance Program! https://www.backthebluenc.org/1033 Keep the Horton family and all our first responders in your prayers.