The South Lake Chamber of Commerce Public Service Award is sponsored by Computer Business Consultants. The award was presented by Clinton Pownall, President & CEO of Computer Business Consultants, to Sgt. Landis Delp of the Groveland Police Department.
Pownall read the accolades of Sgt. Delp:
“Sgt. Delp leads the charge in making sure the less fortunate in Groveland don’t go hungry and children don’t go without presents under their Christmas trees. He began his efforts to give Groveland kids and families a memorable Christmas in July of 2022. The results of his efforts, and with assistance marshaled from other members of the GPD and the United States Marine Corps Toys for Tots program are as follows:
- Christmas in July Auction which raised approximately $4,500.00.
- Local donations raised approximately $5,000.00.
- Collected approximately 150 new bicycles.
- Provided approximately 189 families and 400 children with a Merry Christmas.
In most instances where organizations assist their community with Christmas, families are given the same food and the same age-appropriate toys. That’s not true in Groveland. Sgt. Delp and his wife Cathy telephone everyone who seeks assistance from the GPD and asks what toys their children truly want to find under their Christmas trees, and what they truly need which allows kids to open presents that they actually want instead of one size fits all gifts. This is time-consuming, and in our time of extreme inflation, can become expensive. Sgt. Delp and his wife Cathy use their own money and take the time to shop and ensure these special gifts are provided to create even bigger smiles on the faces of children who thought they might go without.
Sgt. Delp’s humanitarian efforts, and his heartfelt community service, do not start nor stop at Christmas. This year while working with Toys for Tots, Sgt. Delp had the pleasure of meeting the parents of 11-year-old Wyatt Foster. Wyatt is currently very sick and battling leukemia.
Sgt. Delp learned that Wyatt loves the police, and everything related to police, and talks about becoming a police officer when he grows up. Sgt. Delp asked if he could sit and talk with Wyatt, show him the police car, and the lights, siren, and other equipment. His parents agreed and Sgt. Delp spent the next hour talking with Wyatt about the police and showing off his car and equipment. After his original encounter with Wyatt and wanting to do more for Wyatt to make him happy and forget about cancer if only for a little while.
Sgt. Delp enlisted the assistance of many colleagues at the GPD including Chief Ramsey to give Wyatt an opportunity to be an “officer for a day.” Everyone involved agreed to help and the results were purely heartwarming, and nothing short of a restoration of faith in humanity and the police.
Sgt. Delp found a real uniform hat with a real badge on it at a garage sale, he bought it for Wyatt, and he facilitated a full GPD uniform for Wyatt to go with his new hat. A temporary office for Wyatt was established in the CID section of GPD complete with a nameplate, a computer, paperwork, and, of course, a dozen doughnuts laying on the desk.
When the day came for Wyatt to join the GPD, he was provided with his uniform and hat, and taken to meet with the Chief of Police to be sworn in as a Groveland Police Officer. After Chief Ramsey swore him in, Wyatt spent the rest of the day in and around the GPD, he loved his office and kept wanting to go back there, but he also attended a roll call and was given official be on the lookout bulletins for “Tow Mater” and some other cartoon characters and villains that were also given to the adult members of the GPD to play along. He also got to meet with Crime Scene Technician Jessica Osborne who showed him the crime lab and talked with him about all things CSI.
Wyatt’s visit to the PD ended with a Nerf war in CID where he reduced grown adult police officers to children who played with him and had as much fun as he did. This didn’t end Wyatt’s encounter with Sgt. Delp and the Groveland PD, he also visited the bi-weekly farmers market with Sgt. Delp where he was given an opportunity to arrest Mayor Wilson and to get behind the wheel of the GPD’s Golf Cart”.
In our time of distrust and dissatisfaction with the police, Sgt. Delp represents the best of the best in law enforcement. He cares about his community and everyone who lives there, and he is constantly working to make the Groveland community a better place.
