Take the Lake to pay tribute to law enforcement

Our 2013 promo materials

Organizers are gearing up for the fifth annual Take the Lake this Labor Day weekend, and have announced the theme for the 2013 training season.

The committee began using themes in 2011 when it paid tribute to U.S. military personnel and veterans, and then to educators in 2012. All promotional materials are designed around the year’s theme, and theme groups are targeted for participation.

In 2012, area public schools and Southeastern Community College made an extra effort to include their employees in this fitness event, and it is hoped those groups will continue through the years.

The theme for 2013 is law enforcement. Everyone is welcome to participate, but deputies, troopers, police, attorneys, judges, corrections officers, fish and wildlife officers, and probation and parole officers and 

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all their staffs will be featured this year.

Sheriff Chris Batten has already encouraged his deputies to accept at least one of the four Take the Lake Personal Endurance Challenges this summer.

“I am glad that law enforcement has been chosen for the theme this year,” Batten stated. “We at times get complacent in our jobs and forget how important physical fitness is until we are put in a position to need to exert that additional energy to get our jobs done.”

Batten took the lead this spring when he declared he would complete the Bike & Hike PEC, a 12-mile ride and 3-mile walk around the lake.

“We at the Sheriff's office already have officers excited and are talking about what activities they intend to participate in,” Batten stated. “I also think that getting law enforcement and first responders involved in Take The Lake will help make those of us who are not physically fit more aware of our need to stay physically fit.”

Police departments are encouraged to build participation and form friendly competitions within and between agencies. It is hoped that all groups will invite comrades from surrounding counties to visit the Lake on Labor Day weekend and participate, volunteer or enjoy fellowship.

In addition to the Bike & Hike, other PECs are the 15-mile Walk/Run and 14-mile Paddle around Lake Waccamaw, and the 4-mile swim across the lake. All events are free, and although finish times will be recorded, no winners are declared.

Everyone who completes a PEC receives a John A. McNeill Award or a Lee J. Greer Award.

Take the Lake X-TREME!, held the Saturday prior to Labor Day weekend, includes all four PECs in a single day. This event is a race, and includes an entry fee.

The theme this year has a special meaning to the Take the Lake Foundation board, the organizational committee and volunteers, as their inspiration, the man who began the Labor Day Lake Swim decades ago, Lee J. Greer, enjoyed a successful career as an attorney and judge.