Bunny in the City: Handcuffed to My Hero supports law enforcement family

Handcuffed to My Hero hosted the first Blue Line Ball on Nov. 18 at the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force.

Supporting a group of law enforcement spouses who want to bring unity to the community and to encourage each other, their families and the community is the easiest Thanksgiving column decision I have made.

With a Paul Kennedy buffet, decorations by Larger Than Life, DJ by All About You Entertainment, music by Josephine Johnson, John Davis flowers and a surprise performance by edgy comedian CollinMoulton, I enter the rotunda to find that our men and women in blue have traded uniforms for suits and sequins!

With an early prediction that Lt. Warren Blanton of the Chatham County Sheriff’s Office will win best dressed in a Sean John black suit with light blue circles, I commend his wife Jennifer on her fashion choice and on becoming a registered nurse — she has one year left in school.

Posing the best dressed couple with Sgt. John Baker of Brooklet Police Department and his wife Dolores, we somehow talk about our mutual love of Sleep Number beds before I get called over to photograph Savannah-Chatham Metropolitan Police Department’s APO Billy Gray and his wife Katie.

I love following Billy and his family’ travels on Facebook and wish I could chat with them longer, but familiar face Audrey Allgaier is arriving. With happy hugs, Audrey tells me that she is still teaching music, flute and piano, then introduces me to her husband, Mark, a SCMPD corporal in forensics.

There are Metro guys everywhere! APO David Bates and Cpl. Michael Rowan pose with their wives in front a memorial wall, APO Justin Miller pauses his wife Tiffanie, founder and president of H2MH, for a quick pic, and I finish up in the rotunda before heading inside the art gallery.

Det. Brandy Santos and Sgt. Matt Hewett are having a baby! Due in April, I can picture this baby girl arriving in a dark blue uniform, winning a Hula Hoop contest like her dad and taking photos like her mom. Laughing when the cute couple tells me they won’t be “living in sin,” I take a seat with partners Mitchell Adderton and John WyattIngram.

In typical south Georgia fashion, Moultrie native and Metro officer Mitchell elaborately details his history: “When I was a little boy, I was sitting in the back seat when my mom got pulled over by a state patrolman. I have wanted to be an officer since then. Oh, and my Uncle Clem worked for Colquitt County.”

Loving how passionate the future Georgia State patrolman is about his job, it is his partner who has my attention. Working with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources state parks, John and I rave over parks and I encourage him to see his bucket list of Glacier, Zion and the Grand Canyon parks. Cutest dude ever!

Also sitting with us is Officer Molly McConaughy and her husband Tanner. The Precinct 4 officer shares her fifth-grade experience of having a cop come by her bus stop every day that prompted her to follow her dream of becoming an officer. “I’m the only cop in my family, and even though my parents worry, my mom and dad are extremely proud of me,” shares the Southside policewoman.

With the gallery filling up, I edge over to pose Savannah natives and dispatcher April Brown with her husband Det. Larry Brown in a mini photo session followed by closeups of uber fit Dana Flood and Lt. DanielFlood.

Making sure I have an invite to Savannah Center for Blind and Low Vision’s Dining in the Dark, where 30 SWAT members don night vision to escort guest into a pitch-black dining experience, I guarantee Dan that I will see him in January.

It’s showtime and my hostess Stacy Snyder flurries around getting police prom corsages and roses ready for the committee members. I adore this energetic, zany female and her tireless commitment to her four children, her police community and her husband Brian, who served 13 years with the Marine Corps and now serves with SCMPD.

As an only child who grew up hearing stories of World War II from his grandfather, Brian repeats what I have been hearing all night: “I want to serve my country, my community, to be a role model for my children and to be a part of something bigger than myself.”

Obviously this is what Tiffanie and her tribe of 118 dedicated members are accomplishing — encouraging each other while supporting their significant others, thriving under stressful conditions and creating events like The Foot Pursuit 5K, this gala and the First Responder Christmas Drive. Check out policefamilies.org to get involved!

Invite Bunny to your gathering, gala or other social event. Contact Bunny at 912-844-1122 or email her at bunnyware@aol.com.