Each year, I look forward to October and the opportunity for the Sheriff’s Office to thank the community for the overwhelming support given to law enforcement by hosting our annual “Building Unity in the Community” cookout.  Our 7^th annual event will be held Saturday, October 29^th, at Tallulah Massey Park from 11:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m.  Tallulah Massey Park is located adjacent to the Tallulah Massey Library on Rosebrier Avenue in East Albany. It is also bordered by Library Lane and Massey Drive.  This event is our way of saying thanks to the citizens of this community. 

A sense of community is incredibly important.  The Dougherty County Sheriff’s Office began an initiative to build a stronger sense of community in Albany/Dougherty County several years ago by adopting the slogan “Building Unity in the Community” and launching initiatives to live up to our slogan.  We conducted our first annual cookout in 2010 at the Carver Sports Complex, followed annually by events at the Eighth Avenue Ballpark Complex, the Putney Community Center, C.W. Heath Park, Baldwin Park, and Robert Cross Park. Moving or relocating the event each year allows a greater variety of people to take advantage of what the event has to offer.  Even though the cookout is taking place at Tallulah Massey Park, all citizens of Dougherty County are invited to attend. Hopefully, as the event grows, people will want to attend each year. This will encourage people to mingle across-town in a way that builds a greater city/county-wide sense of community.

The Dougherty County Sheriff’s Office also seeks to bridge the gap between law enforcement and the community in many different ways and this is one of them.  Families and citizens can attend and have an opportunity to sit down and talk with law enforcement and other organizations that have resources available to the citizens of Albany/Dougherty County. This is perhaps more important today than ever when communities across the country are working to improve the relationship between law enforcement and the citizens. This event also gives us in law enforcement an opportunity to thank the citizens for the exemplary support we continually receive.

The employees of the Dougherty County Sheriff’s Office are the most supportive and caring I have had the good fortune to work with. I want you to come out and meet some of these individuals and let us get to know you.  We want to hear your concerns and discuss any issues you may be having.  We will have representatives from many different areas of expertise available to answer questions.  There will be representatives from other public safety agencies as well.   We will have plenty of good food to eat as well as games and activities for the children.

The event is free to the public; however, we are accepting sponsors and/or donations to assist us in making it as successful as possible.  We also encourage vendors and community partners to assist with making this event meaningful, useful, and enjoyable.  If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Lt. Terron Hayes at (229) 344-4363.