Between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m., Friday, May 17, on Commerce Street in Jay, area residents can see runners made up of law enforcement officers as they continue the 150 mile End of Watch Memorial Ruck in honor of the officers who lost their lives in 2018.
All day Friday and especially around 4 p.m., Opie’s Cool Stop residnts can stop in for live music, Bratwurst, hamburgers, hot dogs and more. Forty percent of the proceeds will go to help the families of officers killed in the line of duty. Residents will get to meet the runners and organizers of the event around 4 p.m..
During the event, dedicated athletes come together to carry one pound for one mile for every line of duty death from the previous year.
Then at 4 p.m. the next day, Saturday, May 18, 2019, the ruck will conclude at the Santa Rosa County Fairgrounds Arena. The finish line event and memorial ceremony is open to the public.
The event will feature a memorial parade, a recitation of the names of the officers lost in 2018, and presentations from a number of individuals from our local law enforcement leadership.
“The finish line ceremony marks the culmination of this multi-day event,” said Joshua Schwitzerlett, vice-president of the End of Watch Foundation. “We hope our community will come out and join us again this year as we honor the fallen men and women of our law enforcement community.”
The event, called the End of Watch Memorial Ruck (EOWMR), is in its second year and is organized by the End of Watch Foundation (EOWF) and the First Judicial Circuit Law Enforcement Association (FJCLEA). The event raises funds for the FJCLEA, an organization whose primary goal is to provide financial support to members of the criminal justice community and their families during times of need and provides charitable support to children’s advocacy organizations in Northwest Florida. All funds raised by the ruck go to support the efforts of the FJCLEA.
To learn more about the event and the finish line ceremony, visit http://www.EOWMR.com for more information.
