Sheriff’s Office wins 2023 Battle of the Badges Blood Drive
By Carla McKeown/Breckenridge Texan
The Stephens County Sheriff’s Office was the winner of the annual Battle of the Badges Blood Drive hosted by the Rotary Club of Breckenridge, Carter BloodCare representative Colleen Horan said Tuesday afternoon.
Colleen Horan with Carter BloodCare talks to the Rotary Club of Breckenridge on Tuesday. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)
In the three-day blood drive, which took place June 1-3, blood donors had a chance to vote for the Stephens County Sheriff’s Office, the Breckenridge Police Department or the Breckenridge Fire Department. This was the seventh year for the blood drive with a friendly competition. The first three years, the BFD took home the plaque. Then, in 2020, the Sheriff’s Office won, and in 2021, the Police Department came in first place. Last year, the BFD reclaimed the championship. This year’s vote was close, with only one vote deciding the winner, Horan said.
The 2023 blood drive competition tied with the first local Battle of the Badges in 2017 for the most amount of blood collected.
“We collected a total of 56 pints of blood, which is just fantastic for such a small town,” Horan said. “I mean, there’s big groups in Fort Worth that don’t collect as much blood as your little town. I just love coming out here and seeing you all. Thank you for your support. Each pint can save or enhance up to three lives, so that’s over 150 lives touched by this blood drive at a time when we really need it.”
The Rotary Club and Carter BloodCare host the blood drive every summer because when schools are out for the summer break, blood donations decrease, Horan said. During the school year, many high schools host blood drives, and those blood drives provide them with the greatest amount of blood.
The Rotary Club and Carter BloodCare will host the next blood drive on Thursday, Sept. 7, at Texas State Technical College. More information will be available closer to the date of the blood drive.
Everyone who donates at the Sept. 7 blood drive will receive a $20 gift card, Horan said.
The annual Battle of the Badges Blood Drive is a friendly competition in which blood donors can vote for either the Breckenridge Police Department, Breckenridge Fire Department or the Stephens County Sheriff’s Office. Pictured, from left, are Fire Chief Malcolm Bufkin, Assistant Fire Chief Wesley Turner, Police Chief Bacel Cantrell, Colleen Horan with Carter BloodCare, Sheriff Kevin Roach, Chief Deputy Justin Rose and Justin Read with the BFD. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)
Cutline, top photo: Stephens County Sheriff Kevin Roach was presented with a plaque from Colleen Horan with Carter BloodCare at Tuesday’s meeting of the Rotary Club of Breckenridge. The SCSO won the 2023 Battle of the Badges Blood Drive. They are pictured with Sherry and Les Strickland, who coordinate all of the club’s blood drives. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)
