Fallen Officer Memorial Ride benefits memorial service, scholarships and memorial area at local F.O.P. Lodge

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Seventy-two motorcycle engines roared to life Saturday morning at the F.O.P. Lodge in Shelbyville in preparation for the 14th Annual Shelby County Fallen Officer Memorial Ride.

Under the direction of first-time committee chairman Eric Meyers, the memorial ride serves as a fundraiser event.

“The money we take in each year, we host a fallen officer memorial service here at the lodge,” explained Meyers. “We sponsor five scholarships each year, one per each Shelby County high school. We maintain the memorial (photo below) out front. And we will sponsor a fallen officer’s family if they wish to travel to Washington D.C. for National Police Week.”

Following a brief meeting, a prayer and the national anthem Saturday morning, those participating in the 2023 ride fired up their motorcycles and followed this year’s escorts – members of the Shelby County Sheriff’s Department, Greenwood Police Department, the Johnson County Sheriff’s Department and the Indiana State Police – out of the F.O.P. Lodge parking lot.

“Each year we have terrific escorts that help us out,” said Meyers. “It’s a very safe ride. It’s a good, family-oriented ride.”

Meyers, who grew up in Shelbyville and now resides in Indianapolis, took over as committee chairman after years of participation in the event.

“I’ve always been involved with the F.O.P.,” said Meyers. “I remember coming here as a Cub Scout 35 years ago. I have always had a soft place in my heart for this place.”

Meyers is the nephew of former Shelby County Sheriff Dennis Parks.

“It feels like I get to give something back,” said Meyers. “I am not an officer but it is something I wish I could have been. This is my way of giving back to them … a way of helping out.”

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