A Sturgeon County youth is one of two kids who became temporary co-commanding officers of the Alberta RCMP on Tuesday (July 16).
Logan Porlier, 11, from Sturgeon County and Benjamin Thomas, 10, from Sherwood Park started their day-long adventure with the RCMP before 9 a.m., when they met with a crew of officers and staff at the Alberta RCMP headquarters.
The duo were fitted with cadet t-shirts and shorts, and then driven in an Emergency Response Team vehicle to the RCMP’s Air Service Hangar at the Edmonton airport. There, they met with RCMP robots, service dogs, drones -- and, perhaps the biggest surprise of the day, an airplane that whisked them off to the RCMP’s training academy in Regina.
“It was just cool,” Porlier told reporters gathered on the tarmac before the boys boarded the plane. “There was a lot of things to see, a lot of things to hold that were really heavy.”
His favourite part of the day so far was getting to ride in the SWAT vehicle and pick up a gift bag delivered by a robot on treads, he said.
“This is the best day of my life,” said Thomas, who just learned he was about to fly to Regina. “One of [the officers] can bench 365.”
The trip was funded through the Kids with Cancer Society’s Beaded Journey Gala, an auction for dream experiences that go to kids.
It cost $30,000, said Madison McElligott, events manager with the society.
“They miss so many things with going to doctor's appointments, getting chemo,” McElligott said. The aim is to give the kids a day to enjoy themselves without those concerns.
The dream experiences are one-of-a-kind, she said. “No one can just walk off and say, ‘Oh yeah, I’m going to be a commanding officer for a day.’”
Mother Erica Thomas said the day was “a bit overwhelming.”
“These boys have been through so much and spent so much of their childhood sitting in a hospital bed,” she said. “There's been tears of joy, a lot of dropped jaws, a lot of laughter, a lot of wows, and I'm just super excited for the day.”
Thomas’s son, Benjamin Thomas, was diagnosed with a rare kidney cancer called a Wilms’ tumour when he was five and has been in remission for five years.
Rob Hill, commanding officer of the Alberta RCMP, said that many officers were interested in partnering with the Kids with Cancer Society and participating in the event.
“We’re honoured to be able to do this for Ben and Logan,” he said.
As co-commanding officers, the boys participated in the sunset ceremony, which involves marching drills and shooting cannons. They got the chance to inspect the troops, practice shooting using an RCMP simulator and drive on the training academy's 4x4 track.
"They're gonna be tired by the time we get home," Hill said before the group departed. "Those are gonna be two tired boys."
