'Party with a Purpose' set for Sept. 7
Feb. 29—Party with a Purpose, an event celebrating policemen and benefiting first responders and their families, is set for Sept. 7.
Members of Project Never Broken and several law enforcement officers, including Terre Haute Police Chief Kevin Barrett, met Thursday to plan the event.
Project Never Broken founder and executive director Shelley Klingerman, whose brother Greg Ferency was slain in the line of duty in July of 2021, is partnering with Mega Events Benefit Auction Specialists, an organization that arranges Party with a Purpose fundraisers around the country for police groups and nonprofits.
Mega Events is run by Mike Namoff of Champaign, Ill. with assistance from his brother Johnny.
"This is an event that the whole community can participate in, and it's a way to say thank you," Klingerman said.
Klingerman learned about Party with a Purpose from Jason Schechterle, whom she brought to Terre Haute to discuss the book "Burning Shield," which details how he survived after his patrol car was hit by a cab and blew up.
"He was doing an event for Project Never Broken and said, 'Hey have you heard about this event and if not, you should attend it,'" Klingerman recalled.
"So I actually attended and that's when I was exposed to two individuals who are frankly just civilians and wanted to give back to law enforcement too. They knew it was a heavy lift to put that uniform on every day and so they were the change they wanted to see."
Namoff said he wants "to change the way people look at men and women in uniform."
Party with a Purpose offers a dinner, drinks and entertainment while conducting a raffle and silent auction, then shifts to a more serious tone with a lineup of speakers.
Schechterle will be one of the speakers at the Terre Haute event, along with Dog the Bounty Hunter and Rudy Ruettiger, the inspiration for the film "Rudy."
During the meeting Thursday, Namoff received a call from Dog the Bounty Hunter. The television personality is recording a promotion for the event and wanted to know how "Haute" was pronounced.
Namoff said he will sell tables to local businessmen and benefactors, who will have to accommodate two police officers each at their tables. Party with a Purpose is tentatively set to be held at Main Event, 10001 E. Margaret Ave.
Namoff noted that three Terre Haute police officers died on the job within a decade. In addition to Ferency, Brent Long and Robert Pitts also perished on patrol in 2011 and 2018, respectively. That statistic puts Terre Haute in the top 5% of American cities enduring such a tragedy, he said.
"We knew that with a community of our size and a force our size that losing three officers in 10 years statistically put us higher than many big cities," Klingerman said. "I'm sure the force is very well aware of that."
Which imbues her mission with an added urgency, she said. Her goal is to expand Project Never Broken, and Party with a Purpose is part of that.
"We are really raising funds to grow the organization to the next level," Klingerman said. "We have lots of things we still are interested in doing, and we need resources to do that."
David Kronke can be reached at 812-231-4232 or at david.kronke@tribstar.com.
