By Ashley Remkus
The Decatur Daily
DECATUR, Ala. — Decatur’s firefighters and police officers will face off in a “Battle of the Badges” cook-off during a meet-and-greet with the public Saturday outside Academy Sports.
The public is asked to attend the event in the parking lot at 1205 Wimberly Drive S.W. from noon-2 p.m. to judge the grilling skills. A trophy presentation ceremony will follow at 3 p.m.
Each team will prepare 40 pounds of chicken and three pork loins for the blind voting, in which taste-testers won’t know which team prepared the samples.
“Any time we can do something to help and participate with the community, that’s what we want to do,” Decatur Fire and Rescue Lt. Stacy Rose said. “Especially in today’s climate, we need all the good public relations we can get. Just by shaking hands and meeting people, you can make yourself a familiar face, which will make things a lot easier if an emergency does happen.”
Rose said the department will bring a fire truck to the event to spread the word about fire safety and prevention.
Teams will consist of about four off-duty officers and firefighters. But each department has said several other representatives, aside from personnel who are on-call, will be at the event to mingle with the community.
Decatur police spokesman Lt. Proncey Robertson said the department is looking at the event as another opportunity to interact with the community.
“That’s our No. 1 goal,” Robertson said. “But we’re also excited about battling with our fire brothers. It’s a great way to keep up our relationship with them, too.”
The winning team will get to keep its grill and a canopy and receive a $100 gift card to Buffalo Wild Wings, Academy Sports Decatur store manager Carrie Cornelius said.
The losing team’s grill will be raffled to a community member who participated in the judging, and that team also will receive a $20 gift card, Cornelius said.
“We’re really wanting this to be an annual event,” Cornelius said. “There will be a trophy that can be passed back and forth each year based on the winner.”
Copyright 2016 The Decatur Daily