Dalton making pitch for Police and Fire Games

DALTON — Joshua Davis of the Whitfield County Sheriff’s Office went to the 2010 Georgia Fire and Police Games in Carrollton planning to enter the 5K foot race and 25-mile bicycle race.

But that was before he met Douglas Kerns, a Dalton firefighter and seven-year veteran of the games.

“I’d never met him, but a friend of mine told me he’d be down there so I looked him up,” said Davis, a 2000 Southeast High School graduate and former U.S. Marine who fought in Iraq. “I’d already entered the other two races but not the track events. Douglas talked me into it.”

The results? Davis won gold medals for finishing first in the 100 meter dash and 200-, 400- and 1,600-meter runs, as well as the 5K (3.1 miles). He placed third in the cycling race.

Kerns also earned several awards in a variety of events, adding to his impressive total of 42 medals in seven years.

Leaders in Dalton are making a pitch for law enforcement personnel and firefighters from across the state to come to town to compete in Georgia’s annual Police and Fire Games, and it’s now obvious there will be some local athletes looking to steal the show.

The games are designed for police officers and firefighters who are full-time employees in their respective agencies. Events include golf, softball, track and field, basketball, combat shooting, fishing, motor rodeo, Special Weapons And Tactics (SWAT) events, and overall toughest competitor, to name a few.

Stan Maney and Clay Headrick with the Dalton Fire Department caught third place in the fishing competition, and along with Kerns and Davis will be looking to replicate their success here if Dalton wins the staging of the 2012 and 2013 games over Valdosta, Columbus and Forsyth County.

“I believe Dalton’s chances are very good,” said Kerns, a seven-year competitor who was recently tapped to sit on the games’ board of directors. “The factors that go into choosing the city that can hold the games are, number one, that they have good agency interaction like we have here in Dalton and Whitfield County, and having the facilities that can handle 400 to 500 athletes.”

He said there are other elements that play favorably into Dalton’s chances.

“The games have never been held this far north in Georgia, and I believe that will help us tap into a lot of untapped resources,” he explained. “There’s talk of letting Tennessee and Alabama athletes compete in Georgia since they’ve shut down their games due to economic factors. I believe the majority of athletes would want that.”

Kerns said the Dalton Parks and Recreation Department would host the games, as rec departments across the state have done successfully.

“They have the resources, and it won’t cost them extra to rent fields and facilities,” he said. “The games are not a big money-maker, but they bring people in who bring dollars into the area to spend for lodging, restaurants and other things.”

Brett Huske of the Dalton Convention and Visitors Bureau said a committee of community leaders are “very hopeful and positive” they can secure the bid.

“It’s a community-wide (committee) that includes all players — city, county and the Visitors and Convention Bureau,” he said of the effort. “Natasha (Colkmire, CVB sales manager) identified the ‘piece of business’ and then we realized the scope and depth of the program. At that point she began making contact with Chief (Bruce) Satterfield (of the Whitfield County Fire Department) and Chief (Jason) Parker of the city (police department) to start with, and then subsequently with county officials to basically see if they were interested. And lo and behold, they were not only interested but here we find Douglas Kerns has been a participant for years and is now on their board.”

Huske said interest was piqued enough that he and Ronnie Nix of the Dalton Parks and Recreation Department and Parker traveled to Carrollton to “just have a look and see if we felt we could still pull it off.”

“We felt that we could,” he said. “As a result we’ve met again and now we’re in the process of filling out the bid.”

Huske was asked about the potential economic impact to the city and county if the games are procured for two years.

“I think the part of making that projection that will be challenging is going to be (finding out) who do we attract (and) how many do we attract who will need lodging and accommodations and are likely to stay a couple of days,” he said. “Anytime you’re bringing 500 to 1,000 participants — which would certainly be our target range — for a night or two, you’re usually looking in the neighborhood of $250,000 and $500,000 of economic impact.”

Kerns has a Facebook page at “2010 Georgia Police and Fire Games.”

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Dalton athletes bring the hardware home

Three Dalton firefighters and one sheriff’s deputy won age group and overall awards at the recent Georgia Police and Fire Games in Carrollton.

Douglas Kerns, Dalton Fire Department, placed first in the 30-34 age group in the 1,600-meter run (and first overall), second in age group in the 200 meter run, 400 meter run and road cycling (second overall in bike race), and third in age group in the 100 meter dash and mountain biking (fifth overall). Kerns has competed in the games for seven years and has medaled every year.

Stan Maney and Clay Headrick of the fire department placed third in fishing after their fifth year of competing.

“That’s a good placement because other anglers are closer to the big fishing lakes,” said Kerns. “Plus they’re competing in an overall category and not age group.”

Joshua Davis, Whitfield County Sheriff’s Office, placed first in the 24-29 age group in the 100 meter dash, 200 meter run, 400 meter run, 1,600 meter run and 5K (3.1 miles) race, and third in the 25-mile cycling race. It was his first year of competition.

http://www.gapoliceandfiregames.org/

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