Anniston, AL on the 18th of August 2023 in the Classic on Noble restaurant in Anniston the Global K-9 Protection Group held an event in honor of the retired sheriff Larry Amerson. Paws on Patrol, a part of the Global K-9 Protection Group, will offer two scholarships to select Sheriff’s offices that provide School Resource officers. The two scholarships provided by the Larry Amerson School Safety Scholarship program will give the two selected agencies with K-9s trained to recognize firearms as well as the additional training required for those two handles.
The ceremony began by Global K-9 Protection Group Vice President of Commercial Services, Michael Larkin thanking the Senator Keith Kelley, Mrs. Lisa Amerson, Sheriff Mathew Wade from Calhoun County, Sheriff Andre Brunson of Macon County (recipient), and Sheriff Mark Moon of Bount County (winner) thank you thank you for attending this prestigious celebration.
Sherriff Wade was brought to the podium, where he proudly announced the fact that Calhoun County was one of the first counties to get K-9s certified by Paws on Patrol and introduced K-9 Quatro as well as his handler, deputy Chris Williams. K-9 Quatro is currently part of Calhoun County School System. Calhoun County School System and is a great companion for children.
Michael Larking was back on the podium to talk about the process behind this new program of scholarships. He explained that while at an Sheriff’s Conference he had been approached by several different sheriff’s asking how they could integrate some of their dogs in the schools. This is when the company made the decision to establish the scholarship fund in order to help agencies who might not be able to afford one of the K-9’s within their budget. While they were working to name the scholarship, numerous people suggested Larry Amerson’s name be utilized. Larry Amerson was in law enforcement for 45 years, with 20 of those being as sheriff of Calhoun County. When he was sheriff Amerson was able to establish his own program, the School Resource Officer (SRO) Program as well as the system of 911. It was because of his achievements during his time as a sheriff to have his name as the name of the program.
The first recipient of the scholarship is the Sheriff Andre Brunson from Macon County Sheriff Andre Brunson, who was elected for a third time. Sheriff Brunson was extremely pleased to be awarded one of K-9’s from the school district he attends. Sheriff Brunson stated that he was in college when a good friend was killed. At the time when he decided to embark on an occupation in law enforcement. He served for over 23 seasons as an SRO and later said “I am very elated to be awarded this honor. I am a huge fan of Macon County and I appreciate the most effective training and most beautiful dogs around the globe.”
The other scholarship winner came from the Sheriff Mark Moon from Blount County Sheriff Mark Moon, who served for a second term. Sheriff Moon is involved in his military, and has stated that the he has a philosophy that is “all about family as well as faith and freedom”. Moon became a part of the Army and was immediately absorbed into law enforcement after he quit full time. Before becoming sheriff, the SRO was also employed. He added “It’s an honour to be the recipient of this award as well as K-9. This is a big deal for our family.” He concluded with the words “It is a great privilege to have another layer of security for those children in Blount County.”
Alabama State Senator Keith Kelley also addressed the group to express his appreciation the organization for Paws on Patrol to help the schools of Alabama to be more secure. He stated that “A majority of the time, you don’t see the benefits” of having a deterrent in place, such as a gun detection dog. “We believe that these dogs will prevent a potential attack before it occurs.” Senator Kelley acknowledged his Amerson family for the work they’re doing to carry on the work that Larry Amerson had started.
The last guest speaker was wife to Larry, Lisa Amerson, who is also on the Calhoun County School Board. She began by thanking the Dr. Reyes, Superintendent of the Calhoun County School District and The Calhoun County Board of Directors as well as the Sheriff Mathew Wade. Mrs. Amerson said, “Larry would have been very proud to know that this collaboration could be helping. She spoke of his commitment for the Calhoun County community as well as how much he loved his work in Calhoun County. She continued to add that it’s nice to be aware that “Amerson heritage of collaborations is still going strong.”
The Calhoun Journal was able to meet to the lady. Amerson after the event was over for lunch. The lady. Amerson said, “I consider it an honour that Larry’s name is affixed with this award. He was the person who developed his own SRO programme for Calhoun County School District. He also developed a number of new programs and used training programs following the Columbine tragedy.” She also talked about the way in which the present Sheriff’s Office and the County School Board collaborated to secure two K-9’s in the system of schools. It was the Sheriff’s office securing one K-9 and the School Board securing the other. Mrs. Amerson said, “Larry loved to be very involved in community relationships and worked tirelessly to ensure they were maintained.” Larry Amerson passed in December 2020, after an extensive and prestigious time in law enforcement.
