Artie Woods, the man behind the Crime Dog McGruff, was presented the prestigious Liberty Bell Award Tuesday for "taking a bite out of crime" in Wichita Falls, Texas.
Tuesday is Law Day in Texas.
Woods and his famous crime dog are no strangers to awards as they were honored by the Texas Crime Prevention Council in June of 2010 for spreading the word about law enforcement for a quarter of a century to mainly children and young people.
Woods, a former deputy sheriff in Wichita Falls, was introduced by Sheriff David Duke.
The award presentation followed a speech by Kent Hance, chancellor of Texas Tech University, who addressed the meeting of Wichita Falls lawyers. Hance, a former United States Congressman, is the only man to defeat George W. Bush in an election when Bush ran against Hance for United States Congress.
Lonny Morrison introduced his former classmate at the University of Texas School of Law, Kent Hance.
Hance told several amusing stories about his legal career before discussing Texas Tech University. Hance and Morrison joked about being in the same classes. Successful Wichita Falls attorney Steve Shelton, who attended the meeting, is also a longtime friend of Hance's.
Artie Woods has been teaching children and others about law enforcement through his use of McGruff, the Crime Dog for more than 25 years in Wichita Falls.
He began his work with McGruff in 1984 when he started his work as a deputy sheriff with the Wichita County Sheriff's Office, located in Wichita Falls, Texas. Woods says he has talked to more than 2,700,000 people about crime as he enters his twenty-sixth year.
"Believe in yourself as long as you do the right thing," is the theme Woods likes to impart to young people.
Woods was at first frustrated with the response to McGruff, but that all changed when he met a school teacher who promoted the crime dog at her school. After that, Woods and his crime dog talked about the dangers of gangs, drugs and internet abuse to children in schools from kindergartens to high schools.
The popularity of McGruff soared after that. Artie Woods and his canine companion were honored years later when they returned to that first school where that inspirational teacher had become principal.
Dinsmore Elementary School in nearby Electra, Texas, was where the legendary saga began for the two crime fighters and also where they were honored after their first 25 years.
Although the crime-fighting duo started their partnership in Wichita Falls, they later globetrotted across the country and to other continents.
McGruff the Crime Dog was created by Saatchi and Saatchi for the National Crime Prevention Council in July 1980.
Jack Keil invented the slogan "Take a bite out of crime" and did the crime dog's voice many years.
Assistant District Attorney Ben Hoover, president of the Wichita County Bar Association, presided over the meeting.
He also presided over the election of officers for next year. Prosecutors John Gillespie and Starla Jones were elected to the board of directors for the upcoming year.
Todd Davenport, an attorney in private practice, was elected president.
Anyone interested in receiving free notice of future law enforcement and public safety articles should click on the subscribe button above this article.
Comments