School resource officer surprised with new D.A.R.E car

May 1—Bethel Elementary's school resource officer will be rolling in a brand new set of wheels, fully decked out with D.A.R.E. decals.

SRO Jennifer Robertson — or Officer Jen as her students know her — was surprised with her new car on Monday morning in front of the wildly cheering students who lined the bus drop-off circle at the school.

Robertson worked with Haywood County Sheriff's Office Public Information Officer Gina Zachary on coming up with the design scheme for the car. But ultimately, Robertson had no idea what the final product was going to look like.

"I never shared any of it with her," Zachary said, which set the stage for the surprise.

The look on her face as the car pulled into view in front of the sea of cheering students showed that she was ecstatic with the outcome.

"I'm over the moon excited," Robertson said. "It's by far exceeded my expectations. It's gorgeous."

The Dodge Charger features D.A.R.E branding on all four sides — which stands for Drug Abuse Resistance Education. On the back doors are a decal of Daren the Lion, the program's mascot.

Robertson said her favorite part of the design sits on the hood, where Daren is shown with his arms crossed and an eyebrow raised. The officer said the eyebrow raise is something she does often herself and she wanted that image of the mascot somewhere on the car.

"I love the whole car, but that's definitely one of the things that stands out," she said.

The unveiling came as a surprise to Robertson, who thought it was coming later in the week in time for Special Olympics. However, it was made even more memorable with all of the students.

"The school means the world to me, so it was awesome that I got to share this with everybody," she said.

The feeling is mutual, based on the cheers and hugs the students gave Robertson during the unveiling.

"Each and every one of these kids make my day on a daily basis. Between the hugs and the cards and the pictures, it's a daily special treat to be here with them and just the love and affection they show all the time, even when they're having a bad day," Robertson said. "They're great kids. I love being so close and being a support for them and someone they can look up to."

Preparing the car

The effort to get the car ready for Robertson has been in the works for months. Haywood County Sheriff's Chief Deputy Matthew Trantham said the car is one of the ones the county commissioners approved for the SROs.

Both Trantham and Haywood County Sheriff Bill Wilke thanked the commissioners for their support of the sheriff's office and the school resource officers.

"Nothing would be possible without their support," Wilke said. "They provide us with the resources necessary for us to do our job, and without fail, they've done that."

Wilke said he was very hands-off in the entire process, allowing his team to work together to bring the car to the finish line.

"I'm fortunate enough to have a staff that has a great skillset," Wilke said. "I just trust them to do what they do and this is the end result. I couldn't be more proud of this team here because things like this get done."

Once the design process started, the final plans had to be approved by D.A.R.E of America before putting it on the car. After that, the designs were sent to A to Z Signs.

The last piece of the puzzle was getting the equipment in the car. The cruiser is fitted with all of the same equipment as any other police car.

"We've been waiting on the last piece of equipment to come in for all of our cars and it came in a week and a half ago," Trantham said. "Her's was one of the first three cars we sent over to have it fitted."

The sheriff said that the car was a great way to show the sense of camaraderie among the entire community.

"It's about community. It's about bringing us together," Wilke said. "The car is just a symbol of that."

Now that Robertson has her keys in hand, she says she is ready to show the car off and use it as a tool to connect with students and the community.

"I can't wait to show it off to the county," she said. "My middle school kids are going to love it. Everyone is going to love it. It's gorgeous. It's awesome to have this."

She's also looking to raise some eyebrows of her law enforcement colleagues.

"I have a conference in June and we get to enter all the D.A.R.E. cars in a car show," Robertson said. "I think it's going to do really well and I'm excited to show it off to the rest of the D.A.R.E. instructors."