PHHS Athletics donates mat to police department

PENDLETON — When Pendleton Police Chief Marc Farrer walked into the Pendleton Heights auxiliary gym Friday after school, accompanied by some of his officers, he didn’t know why he’d been called there. Rows and rows of Pendleton Heights student-athletes and coaches stood waiting for his arrival.
Coach Dave Cloud told the group to part in the middle and reveal their surprise, and when they did, Farrer became emotional.
Behind those rows of athletes was a training mat. On the 12×12 mat was the Pendleton PD logo, along with a picture of a pair of handcuffs; along the bottom it read “Donated by the PHHS Athletic Department and Arabian Athletes.”
Farrer became emotional examining the gift just presented to his department.
“This is awesome. I love love from the community. You’re gonna make me cry.”
He went on to take a closer look at the mat. “Wow, this is over the top, thank you.”
Several months prior, Farrer had asked Cloud if the wrestling team had any old mats the department could have for training purposes.

Story continues below photos

“We were just asking for an old mat so we could use it at the station for our tactics training,” Farrer said. “Anytime the kids show support for law enforcement, it’s an awesome thing. You don’t get this in a lot of communities.”
Cloud knew the team didn’t have anything they could give the chief, but he started thinking. He had an idea maybe the athletic department could raise enough money to buy a new mat.
“I thought ‘Well, why not buy a new mat where we could customize it like we wanted,” Cloud said. “It’s something that will be special and for future officers, it’s a reminder of how much people in the community really appreciate them.”
He went to Athletic Director Chad Smith, who was on board right away and planted seed money of $250.
They would need to raise another $950.
He sent a note out to the coaches and team booster clubs about the project. All were eager to participate, and the fundraising began. Ultimately, they raised well beyond the $1,200 needed, hitting $2,000. With the extra money, additional equipment and supplies were purchased.
The mat will be used for various training exercises the officers are required to do by the State of Indiana, Farrer said.
“We have defense training every year, which consists of rolling around on the ground and jiu-jitsu type movements, and having the pad available helps with preventing injury and supports our training,” he said.
In relaying his gratitude to the school, Farrer apologized for not being in uniform because he’d been at home waiting on one of his horses to foal. (The foal arrived at 2:15 a.m. Saturday.) He said the mat gift meant the world for the community to be so supportive of the department.
Resilite, a company out of Pennsylvania, made the mat with a digital imprint that is part of the mat and will not wear off after extended usage.
Cloud said he was initially told it could take four to six weeks to get the mat to the school. Two weeks after placing the order, Cloud received a call the mat was on its way. He said he was thrilled with the news because he wanted to be able to present Farrer with the surprise before school let out for the summer and it would be difficult to get athletes back to the school for the presentation.
Smith said he was not surprised at how the community responded with funds.
“For me, I’m not shocked by it,” he said. “That’s what we do here. That’s our culture. It’s on display. We don’t talk about it, we just do it.”