In the three months since two Harford County Sheriff's Office deputies were shot and killed in the line of duty, nearly three-quarters of a million dollars has been raised to help their families through the Harford County Deputy Sheriff's Benevolent Fund.
As of Monday, more than $771,000 had been donated to the fund, through the Harford County Deputy Sheriff's Union, according to Fred Visnaw, president of the union and benevolent fund.
Donations are still coming in and more fundraising events are planned throughout May.
At some point, however, Visnaw said funds donated will stop going directly to the families of the fallen deputies and will begin going back into the fund's general account.
Senior Deputy Patrick Dailey and Deputy First Class Mark Logsdon were gunned down in Abingdon Feb. 10 by suspect David Evans, who police said was intent on hurting someone that day.
Union leaders established the Benevolent Fund, a 501c3 nonprofit entity, in 2006 to raise money to support the families of firefighters, EMS workers and law enforcement officers injured or killed in the line of duty.
"When Mark and Pat were murdered, the fund was the perfect structure to be able to collect and later get the funds paid to the family," Visnaw said.
All donations that have come to the fund since Feb. 10 have been set aside for the Dailey and Logsdon families, and Visnaw called the amount donated "pretty amazing."
Visnaw estimates fund administrators will stop setting aside donations for those two families in the next few weeks to a month, though, and funds will again be made available to any public safety family in need.
Bel Air attorney Joseph Snee said Visnaw and members of the Benevolent Fund's board must meet and decide how the funds will be distributed to the Dailey and Logsdon families.
"That meeting is pending," Snee said Monday.
Still coming in
Multiple businesses and community groups have raised money for the Benevolent Fund since Feb. 10.
Many businesses have planned large-scale events that raised thousands of dollars, others put up dollar-for-dollar matches to donations made. Other contributions weren't as large, but every single one has added up to a large total.
One of the most recent donations came Saturday from Whiteford Volunteer Fire Company, which presented a $500 check for the to Sheriff's Office Maj. William Davis during the company's annual awards banquet Saturday.
Additional fundraising drives and law enforcement appreciation promotions are happening this week at The Arena Club east of Bel Air.
Law Enforcement Appreciation Week started Monday and lasts through Sunday.
"Law enforcement and their families can utilize the club for free this week," Angela Saccenti, the marketing manager, said.
Club patrons can contribute money to the Benevolent Fund by purchasing paper Sheriff's Office badges for $2 each. The badges have a line where purchasers can write names of law enforcement officers, and they are being hung in the windows of a conference room near the front entrance and the windows of exercise studios.
"Everyone's interested in supporting the Benevolent Fund," Saccenti said.
Arena Club officials are planning a fundraising event for May 13, 2017, the Heroes Mud Mile. It will be a one-mile mud run on the Arena Club grounds off Route 22 near Harford Community College.
The mud run, which is open to competitors ages 16 and older, includes obstacle courses, swimming, a mud crawl and a sand crawl.
"We wanted to plan something next year to continue the momentum [of fundraising]," Saccenti said.
St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Aberdeen will host a First Responders Celebration during its 9 and 10:30 a.m. services Sunday, May 22, to which police, fire and EMS workers have been invited.
"We invited them to worship, and we're going to focus on them that morning," Pastor Stuart Luce said Monday.
Luce attended Senior Deputy Dailey's funeral at Mountain Christian Church in Joppa in February, and two things said by speakers at the funeral still stick in his mind.
The first was a reminder that first responders run "toward trouble" when others run away from it, and the initial call that led to the shooting – Evans' threats against his ex-wife and that he was in the Panera Bread restaurant at the Boulevard at Box Hill shopping center – was the type of call police officers handle on a regular basis.
Senior Deputy Dailey was the first to respond to the call involving Evans, and he approached the suspect in the restaurant. He was shot as he tried to talk to Evans.
Evans then walked out of the restaurant and across the street to a senior citizens apartment complex. Additional officers, including DFC Logsdon, confronted him in the apartment parking lot. He shot at them, struck DFC Logsdon and then was killed by return fire from the police.
"That's the kind of situation police officers step into on a regular basis," Luce said of the initial call.
The pastor said invitations have been delivered to the Aberdeen Police Department, the Aberdeen Fire Department and police and fire and EMS workers at Aberdeen Proving Ground.
Additional invitations have been printed for church members to deliver to other first responders.
"They know they're appreciated by the person who hands them the invitation," Luce said.
Mountain Branch Golf Club in Joppa will host a memorial golf tournament in honor of both deputies Thursday, May 26.
DFC Logsdon was a member of Mountain Branch, and he played in the club's men's league.
"We all knew Mark very, very well," Carol McCarthy, the club's general manager, said.
Spots for the golf tournament sold out in two days, with 148 participants, according to McCarthy.
Registration starts at 7:30 a.m., and an opening ceremony is scheduled for 8:30 a.m., which includes the dedication of a memorial garden at the first hole on the course.
Play is scheduled to start at 9 a.m., with a reception at 2:30 p.m. Tickets for the reception are $50 each, and they are still available. Visit hwww.mountainbranch.com or call 410-836-9600 for more information.
People can also purchase "tee signs" for $100 each. The signs come with a Sheriff's Office badge and space for the name of the donor.
"My goal is to line [Route] 152 with tee signs," McCarthy said.