Northside Elementary Student wins SRO License Plate Contest

Corporal Mike Thompson of the Oconee County Sheriff’s Office is always looking for ways to get students more involved. Part of that is getting involved in their lives as well and building good relationships with them. Acting upon that initiative, Corporal Thompson came up with the idea of asking students at the three elementary schools in the Seneca area that he is the School Resource Officer for (Blue Ridge, Ravenel and Northside) to enter into a contest to design a new front license plate for his Ford Explorer Patrol Car. According to Corporal Thompson, approximately 100 entries were submitted and recently, out of the top three or four, school administrators from each of the three elementary schools in the Seneca area chose the winning entry. The submission that was chosen now adorns the front of Corporal Thompson’s patrol vehicle. “I want the students to believe that they are heard and listened to and I want to find ways to get them involved,” says Corporal Thompson. “I knew I needed to have a license plate on the front of my patrol vehicle and once I got approval from the Sheriff’s Office on the winning submission, I had the tag made and it is on my patrol vehicle.” The winning submission was from Justin Mauldin, who is a 4th grade student at Northside Elementary. As part of winning the contest, Justin had lunch with Corporal Thompson and the principal at Northside with food from Chick-fil-A. Corporal Thompson took the winning design to T and R Graphics and had two tags made, one which went on the front of the patrol car and the other that was given to Justin as a presentation from Corporal Thompson. Oconee County Sheriff Mike Crenshaw commends Corporal Thompson for his initiative to build relationships with his students. “I challenge every deputy to be a problem solver and think outside the box when it comes to fulfilling our mission and vision for our county. This tag on his patrol vehicle is another way law enforcement can connect with the community we serve.”