The Arklatex 100 Club awarded more than $27,000 in grants for life-saving equipment and expenses to eight police and fire agencies in Bowie and Miller Counties at their October meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 6, 2021.

The mission of the ArkLaTex 100 Club is to raise funds for the dependents of local first responders who are lost in the line of duty. The remaining funds are available as grants to local fire and police agencies to purchase unbudgeted but necessary life-saving equipment and training. The club’s $100 membership fee directly helps our local police departments, fire departments, and first responders, and new members are encouraged to join at thearklatex100club.org.

“Our primary mission and what your membership enables us to do is to furnish immediate financial assistance to the surviving family in the event that any local police, fire, or first responder is killed in the line of duty,” said Kelley Crisp, ArkLaTex 100 Club board president.

“With additional funding, we provide grants for non-budgeted lifesaving equipment to local police and fire jurisdictions, with the goal of keeping our men and women in uniform safe as they serve our communities, according to a press release.

At the meeting, the ArkLaTex 100 awarded the following grants:

● $3,000 to the Genoa Volunteer Fire Department for new hoses

● $1,500 to the Texarkana Arkansas Fire Department for a new specialized fan for cooling firefighters in gear on-site

● $3,500 to the New Boston Police Department for radios

● $2,500 to the Maud Volunteer Fire Department for fire gear

● $612 to the Wake Village Police Department for less-lethal gear

● $1,965 to the De Kalb Volunteer Fire Department for gloves

● $3,000 to the Liberty-Eylau Volunteer Fire Department for wildland gear

● $5,500 to the Simms Volunteer Fire Department for new gear for 10 firefighters

● $2,998 to the Mandeville Volunteer Fire Department for diving masks

● $2,724 to the C-5 Volunteer Fire Department for portable radios

Since the club was founded in 2016, the group has awarded nearly $350,000 in grant funds to area agencies.

The club’s other fundraiser, the Pull for Heroes Sporting Clay tournament, will take place next spring. Proceeds from the membership drive and the Pull for Heroes tournament will be used to provide support for the families of police and firefighters who die in the line of duty. Any funds left over are used to award grants to local police and fire agencies.

To join the ArkLaTex 100 Club or learn more about its mission, please visit thearklatex100club.org.

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