Burlington, NC (WFMY) - From Alaska to Maine patches from all over the U.S. have now found their way to Burlington, North Carolina and they keep coming in!
It’s all thanks to a records worker with the Burlington Police Department who had a special request for departments across the nation.
PHOTOS | Police Departments From Every State Send Patches To Burlington PD
In June, Meghan McCann started emailing police departments around the nation to ask them to send her patches. She wanted to surprise a co-worker who loves police patches with one from every state in the U.S. for her birthday!
It took about a week for McCann to email more than 350 departments from all across the nation. McCann emailed so many departments to guarantee at least one patch from every state. Then the waiting game started but eventually patch after patch started to roll into the department.
McCann said, “I traded approximately 20 patches with departments across the U.S., including a Sergeant with the Maui Police Department in Hawaii. I received many patches that I didn’t know were coming!”
So far, McCann has received 114 patches from 101 police departments and more are coming in daily.
Other employees at the police department have also been excited to see which patches come into the station. The fun has even carried over to the postal service!
McCann said, “It became a fun project that put smiles on many faces, including our city mailman who would search through the mail with me to see what had come. It was fun for all involved, and it was worth it.”
McCann said her favorite patch to come in was from the Dodge City, Kansas Police Department because it reminds her of the wild west. The patch features a bull with two guns and a train.
She's received the most patches from Vermont police departments, totaling 11. But Jackson Tennessee Police Department has sent the most variety of patches.
McCann said, “They sent a patch for some of their specialized divisions along with their regular patch.”
She said her co-worker, Brittany Benfield was shocked to receive the patches. She presented the patches on a U.S. map with a thin blue line with the words, “Happy Birthday From Police Across the United States.” However, you can’t see the map because of all the patches!
She also said Benfield’s favorite patch is from Apache Junction, Arizona. That’s where she traded patches with the Chief of Police and his daughter who works for another agency.
“I was amazed with the response. I had conversations with many law enforcement employees across the U.S. Some thought it was such a good idea that they sent extra things such as challenge coins, pens, and birthday cards addressed to Brittany,” McCann said.
The duplicate patches have now been placed on the department’s patch boards.
One thing is for sure the blue brotherhood stands together!
Happy Birthday Brittany from WFMY News 2!
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