What a great day Tuesday, November 1 turned out to be!  KCS celebrated our first “Back the Blue” day across the district, honoring and thanking the women and men of the Kingsport Police Department for all they do to keep our schools and community safe.  This week, the Saturday Six wanted to share a variety of images from that great day, while highlighting six things that occurred.

THANK YOU, KINGSPORT POLICE DEPARTMENT!  You are truly world class.

1. Back the Blue Day began with a breakfast provided for KPD officers and staff, held at the Kingsport Justice Center.  In fact, there was even a second breakfast held on Thursday morning to say thank you to the officers in platoons that were off on Tuesday.  We are privileged to have such a great group of individuals protecting our community.
2. Throughout the day, patrol officers visited all KCS elementary schools to perform school walkthroughs and were greeted with a wide variety of “thank yous” and shows of appreciation.  The relationships and positive interactions between officers, students and staff were incredible to see!
3. It was a blue day all across Kingsport City Schools!  Students and staff wore blue in a sign of unity and support for KPD.  It was an impressive display of solidarity for our officers.
4. At Tuesday’s Board of Education meeting, John Sevier Middle School Principal Dr. Holly Flora and JSMS Student Council President Marcus Briggs presented a report on the KCS School Resource Officer program.  SROs are present each day at Dobyns-Bennett, Sevier, and Robinson Middle Schools, providing on-site support.  Our SROs are fantastic and greatly appreciated!
5. In fact, the four KPD SROs received a steady dose of support throughout the day at D-B, Sevier, and Robinson.  Officers Sean Cornett and Justin Humphries (D-B), Brad Conkin (Sevier) and Rick Marshall (Robinson) were all placed in the spotlight by their schools, showing just how much their daily protection is appreciated!
6. The day concluded with the Board of Education presenting a formal resolution to the Kingsport Police Department designating November 1 as “KCS Backs the Blue Day” across KCS.  KPD Chief David Quillin, Public Information Officer Tom Patton, and SROs Sean Cornett, Brad Conkin, and Rick Marshall accepted the honor on behalf of the KPD.  It was a fitting conclusion to an incredible day supporting our police!

Use the hashtag #BacktheBlue on KCS social media to find all the images from this great day!