Royston Police Explorers Place High at WinterFest 2015

Royston’s Police Explorers are basking in the glow of some pretty prestigious national awards.

Recently, the Royston Explorer Post 103 attended WinterFest 2015 in Gatlinburg, Tennessee along with Royston

Police Chief Donnie Boleman and Corporal Nancy Root where they competed in eight different competitions.

Boleman said members of Post 103 came in in the top 20 in most of those competitions which included Uniform Inspection, Drug Identification, Active Shooter and a Physical Fitness Challenge.

But he said there were two competitions where the Post really shined.

“One was Officer Survival,” he said. “They have to act as an officer would, not knowing the situation. Sgt. Ryan Irvin placed second in this division out of 27 teams total. We’re very proud of him.”

Sgt. Irvin is a recent graduate of Stephens County High School and is currently working for the Franklin County Sheriff’s Department as a jailer.

Boleman said his Explorers also did really well on the Written Exam portion of the competition.

“Jamie Hancock placed fifth in the Written Exam out of 44 taking the test. So, we’re very proud of her achievement,” Boleman said.

Boleman said all of his Explorers did well at WinterFest and he is very proud of all of them.

According to Boleman, the Royston Explorer Post 103 is known nationwide as a Post to be reckoned with.

“We’ve been attending this event for about eight years and we’re very well respected at the event,” he said. “It’s such an honor to be able to go up there and have that kind of respect for being such a small town.”

The Police Explorer program is open to young men and women ages 14 to 20 who have an interest in a career in the field of law enforcement.

Law Enforcement Explorer posts help youth to gain insight into a variety of programs that offer hands-on career activities.