Local officers battle for truck pull bragging rights
By John Joyce
Published in News on November 15, 2015 3:05 AM
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News-Argus/CASEY MOZINGO
Alex Scott, far right, and his teammates from Bodies Unlimited pull on a rope attached to a Rosewood Fire Department fire truck during a fundraiser to benefit the Wayne County Sheriff's Office on Saturday. The event raised more than $3,000.
Wayne County Sheriff Larry Pierce could not contain his enthusiasm Saturday as he leaned in, cheering on members of his SWAT team, telling them to give it their all.
With muscles bulging out of their T-shirts, the five men leaned back, squeezed a little tighter and pulled a little harder and were able to pull a 44,000-pound fire truck the required distance to remain in the competition. They were but one of five teams representing the sheriff's office in a fire truck pull held to raise funds for the department.
A total 14 teams competed in the event Saturday -- held in the parking lot of the Walmart Shopping Center in Rosewood-- raising more than $3,000 to be donated to the Wayne County Sheriff's Office.
The event came about after a local gym owner floated the idea to a colleague a couple of months ago. Within weeks, everyone who had been asked to support the concept was on board. No one said no, organizer Brad Stallard said.
"Really what started this whole thing was the social media," Stallard said, still catching his breath from taking a turn pulling the truck. "Talking about cops and talking about how bad they are. And these guys put their lives on the line every day," he said.
Stallard co-owns and operates Bodies Unlimited, a gym based out of Pikeville. He said one of his clients is a sheriff's office employee who participates annually in a charity event where he pulls a plane to benefit the Special Olympics in Raleigh. Stallard said he borrowed the concept and contacted local sponsors to support the idea.
"I just have a tremendous amount of respect for these guys. Think about it. They get up every day and put their lives on the line for us, and we want to criticize them in "slo-mo," you know, watching video over and over again. And they do it every day for us," he said.
Stallard said that in 45 days, everyone came together and made the event possible. One of the first people he contacted was co-organizer Samantha Bolechowski, a manager at the Fit 4 Life fitness center located in the Rosewood shopping plaza where Saturday's event was held.
"Brad from Bodies Unlimited approached me with it and we pretty much just teamed up, our two gyms, and tried to get as many people on board, as many sponsors as we could. And it has gone well," she said.
Sponsors Saturday included Adams Roadside BBQ, Herbalife, Dick's Sporting Goods, Fit 4 Life Anytime Fitness, Texas Roadhouse and Edible Arrangements, she said.
"We had practice runs about a month in advance just to see if we could pull it. Next time we would hope for more teams and for more women to be involved," Ms. Bolechowski said. The next annual event will likely benefit a different cause, but will still be one that supports the community, she added.
Pierce said he was grateful to have so much community support and he remained energetic throughout the competition.
"If I ever need a posse to go after anybody, there is enough muscle in Wayne County to do it," he said.
Stallard said the difference between first and sixth places was less than a second, he said.
All told the event raised more than $3,000 and every dime of it will go to the Sheriff's Office, Stallard said.
"We, myself and Samantha at Fit 4 Life, paid for a lot of it out of our pockets. I think we had well over 300 people come out today, there was just a lot of support and a lot of camaraderie shown and that is what the whole idea was about," he said.