Page 47 - June 2017 Newsletter

Bob Slechter celebrates his TD reception with one of his Enforcers teammates.
screaming and hollering,” Zaragoza said.
While the game is the centerpiece of the First Respond-
ers Bowl, football also brings people together to celebrate the city’s police officers and firefighters, raise money for charity and recognize those who put their life on the line in service.
“We can’t do our job without what you do,” Zaragoza said to Blaze players as they kneeled together with En- forcers out of mutual respect and support after 60 min- utes of battling.
They remained side by side, hands together or on each other’s shoulders, for a prayer to conclude a day filled with special moments that went beyond the game on the sizzling turf.
One of those moments came when 7-year-old Alejan- dro Valadez, Jr., was invited onto the field. The son of fall- en Chicago Police Officer Alejandro Valadez said he was surprised by the chance to bring the game ball out to ref- erees before the game.
Valadez was a three-year CPD veteran when he died on June 1, 2009, after three men opened fire on him and his partner. He is survived by his son and fiancée, Christina Rodriguez.
“I love how they honor (my son). They bring him to these events. It’s wonderful,” Rodriguez said prior to kick- off.
The pre-game ceremony also included recognition and loud applause for four officers wounded on duty, includ- ing two who were shot just a month ago.
On May 2, Ninth District Officers Colin Ryan and Leo Augle were hit by rifle fire during a fast-moving shootout with gang members. The pair – both big football fans who played the game through their high school years – served as one half of the Enforcers’ team of honorary captains.
“It was just real nice of them to reach out,” said Ryan, 24, who has been with the Department for more than two years.
Added 38-year-old Augle, who is a 14-year-veteran: “They wanted to show their appreciation to us. It was a really nice surprise and honor.”
Joining Ryan and Augle at midfield as captains were Officers Martin Hernandez and Joel Lopez. The pair was involved in their own shooting incident with gang
members, and Hernandez was struck by a bullet in his protective vest. The partners said the situation has brought them closer together, even if standing in front of the crowd isn’t something they’re used to.
“The support just feels great. I’m not used to this much attention, especially when you’re just doing your job like everybody else out there,” Hernandez said.
Hernandez stood for the ceremony with his two sons nearby as the crowd cheered. The moment, he said, dou- bled as a learning experience for them.
“The one thing as a father is to be able to be a good role model,” Hernandez explained.
Illinois State Police Director Leo Schmitz and his family attended the game in honor of his son, Jacob, who passed away in 2016. A scholarship in Jacob’s name is awarded to a Brother Rice student. Schmitz expressed his apprecia- tion for organizers of the game and their efforts to raise money for the scholarship.
“It’s great to have a family outside of ours with the po- lice department and fire department,” said Schmitz, who retired from the Department as a commander before joining the State Police. “It just shows how great they are to be doing things like this. Everybody stands up to help where they can.
“I’m proud of all these guys out here, police and fire. They’re all good guys. It’s hard to work and then go out and practice.”
Zaragoza, a 22-year Department veteran himself, echoed the idea of commitment.
“We put a lot of responsibility on them,” he said. “We tell these guys from Day One that if you’re gonna do this, do it right. These guys walk into it knowing the commit- ment in time...the responsibilities of doing their fund- raising. It goes back to selflessness on their part.”
At any level of football, practices tend to focus on fin- ishing games strong. With temperatures in the low 90s all afternoon, the Enforcers had to dig deep to do just that.
The coppers led 15-0 late in the first half on two touch- down passes from Chris Pazan to Bob Slechter and a safe- ty after a botched Blaze snap. However, the firefighters quickly drove down for a score of their own with five sec- onds to go before halftime.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 48
CHICAGO LODGE 7 ■ JUNE 2017 47
g e t
m