IslandVibesIOP.com 11 COMMUNITY Service to country and community IOP park served as host for traveling historical flag exhibit By Laura Fogarty Pops with Cops Keeping the community cool and connected this summer By Cari Lawson There are plenty of things kids remember about a beach vacation. Sandcastles, beach games, sunburn and fun with family are just a few that come to mind. When youngsters visit Isle of Palms, they may leave with a different memory. After all, it’s not every day a police officer hands you a popsicle. Throughout the summer, officers from the Isle of Palms Police Department make their way down the beach with coolers full of frozen treats. Children spot them from a distance and dash toward the officers to get their popsicles. The scene repeats itself over and In honor of our nation’s 250th anniversary, the Isle of Palms Exchange Club, together with VFW Post 3137, organized a traveling display of 26 historic American flags. This collection features the Continental Union and Betsy Ross along with every star-spangled version of our flag as America grew and stars were added, state by state. A Declaration of Independence banner completes this spectacular patriotic exhibit. The Leola Hanbury Memorial Park was one of several hosts for this historic display of our nation’s maturing flag. What a fitting locale given Hanbury’s patriotism and service to the island. Located at 1207 Palm Blvd., Leola Hanbury Memorial Park is a picturesque, immaculately landscaped green space named in honor of a community pillar who championed beautification and conservation efforts. Hanbury was an active member of the Isle of Palms City Council for six years and dedicated over 20 years to enhancing the island’s quality of life through her involvement in the Isle of Palms Garden Club. Some of Hanbury’s contributions to the island include serving as secretary of the Isle of Palms Commerce Association and serving on the task forces of the Charleston Harbor Project and the Beach Advisory Committee. Additionally, she was a member of the steering committee for the island’s 50th anniversary and was the original coordinator of the Isle of Palms Beach Sweep and a key organizer of the “Adopt A Dune” program. In 2014, Hanbury gifted the City of Isle of Palms $25,000 to create the now aptly-named Leola Hanbury Employee of the Year Recognition Award. This $500 award celebrates employees who go above and beyond, demonstrating integrity and a strong commitment to our community. Leola Hanbury Memorial Park over. A child accepts a popsicle. An officer asks how their beach day is going. Someone notices a piece of trash nearby and tosses it into the officer’s trash can. A parent waves from a beach chair. Then everyone moves on with their day. As simple as this program sounds, it has had a big impact. Pops with Cops has been around longer than some of the officers currently participating in it. Nobody seems entirely sure who first came up with the idea, but it has become one of those traditions that residents and kiddos alike look forward to. What starts as a free popsicle usually turns into something else. Kids ask questions. Sometimes a lot of questions. They want to know about police cars, radios, badges and whether officers ever get nervous. Officers answer them between handing out treats and collecting trash from the beach. It’s easy to forget that many children’s earliest impressions of law enforcement are formed through small moments like these and not dramatic ones. Not the kind that make headlines. Just everyday interactions that quietly shape how they view the people around them. For beachgoers, Pops with Cops can seem like a simple act of kindness. For the department, it’s an opportunity to be visible in a different way. Instead of showing up when there’s a problem, officers become part of an ordinary summer afternoon. The environmental lesson comes along naturally. Kids quickly register that the officers aren’t just carrying frequently hosts rotating civic displays, including the 250th anniversary traveling patriotic flag exhibit, an ideal tribute to American history and the legacy of Hanbury that continues to inspire goodness and public service. popsicles but that they’re toting a trash can, too. Picking up litter becomes part of the exchange. The beach gets a little cleaner, and the message tends to stick better than it would in a brochure or classroom presentation. Maybe that’s the real success of the program. Not the number of popsicles handed out, or bags of trash collected, but the fact that the interactions feel authentic and genuine. The goal is to interact with the community and remind beachgoers about littering and beach cleanup. There isn’t any fanfare or major presentation. It is just officers walking through the sand, children gathering around and a few minutes of conversation that might not seem important in the moment. Years from now, most of those kids probably won’t remember exactly what flavor popsicle they got. But they will recall a positive encounter that they had with a police officer and the importance of keeping our beaches clean.
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