Police Supporter Receives Honor

The 93-year-old founder of the Spokane Police Department Volunteers program was honored Thursday night as 1996 “Volunteer of the Year.”

Leonard LeMay, a retired building contractor, helped start the program nine years ago.

“I couldn’t get a job because of my age, and I still wanted to work,” he said in an interview. “It occurred to me that there was an excellent reservoir of talent around, lying there not being used.”

LeMay said he’s always had a lot of respect for police.

“And of all the places I’ve ever been, the Spokane Police Department is probably one of the cleanest I’ve ever seen.”

Six months after LeMay walked into police headquarters with his idea, 22 volunteers had signed on. Today, the program boasts nearly 200 volunteers.

At the department’s annual award ceremony Thursday, 128 men, women and teens were honored for collectively contributing 64,383 work hours last year.

“Today we have between 150 to 175 uniformed volunteers, and we have thousands of others in the various COPS shops involved in creating safety in this community,” Police Chief Terry Mangan said.

Volunteers perform clerical duties for police and deliver food to those in need during emergencies, like last November’s ice storm.

, DataTimes