What's Happening in Myrtle Beach, SC…

Motorcycle officers from across the nation and Canada gathered in Myrtle Beach recently to learn to ride better, and to raise funds for the fight against childhood cancer, according to an article on WFMBnews.com.

Fourteen years ago, the Palmetto Police Motorcycle Skills Competition was started in Charleston by Robert Grimsley, a police officer with twenty-five years' service. Grimsley believed South Carolina should have a competition to allow officers to enhance the skills they acquired when they first learned to ride. Grimsley says the motorcycle school officers have to pass to qualify as motor officers is extremely tough, but there is still more to learn.

Grimsley describes motorcycle patrol duty as “inherently dangerous” with a “high liability,” adding that not everyone can pass the course, because it requires riders to master many different skills. The upside, however, is that motorcycles are one of the most valuable tools for law enforcement in use today. Organizers of events like this can use banner printing to decorate the venue.

The skills competition is timed, and requires riders to navigate a series of layouts that test such skills as slow riding, and tight turns. Over 80 officers took part, including the only female motor officer, Lise Grenier, from Ontario, Canada. Grenier said the demanding course means riders have to think ahead.

Camp Happy Days foundation receives the money raised during the competition. The camp is a week-long getaway for children battling cancer.