The World Police and Fire Games, Fairfax 2015, is coming next June because of a friendship born in Stockholm. It all started when a Fairfax County police officer and a fire fighter met at a Palace at the 1999 Games there and decided to bid.
Fairfax County Police Department (FCPD) 2nd Lieutenant Bruce Blechl was competing in long distance running. He’s an athlete who, since 1997, has been competing in the Games hosted by the World Police and Fire Games Federation around the world. Read more on Wikipedia:
Find out what's happening in Fairfax Cityfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Fairfax County Fire Department (FCFD) Battalion Chief Jerome Williams, also an athlete, was competing in “ultimate firefighter” and in the staircase climb run, for which he won a Gold Medal. Interestingly, the two men live literally a few miles apart in Fairfax County, Virginia!
“We met at the Royal Palace in Stockholm,” said Lt. Blechl. He said they asked each other: “wouldn’t it be great to bring the Games home?”
Find out what's happening in Fairfax Cityfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
“Jerome wrote a letter to the Federation and unbeknownst to him, I was starting a non-profit organization here in the County,” said the lieutenant.
“We presented it to the Federation Board and in 2009 won the bid,” added Chief Williams. The two seem to complete each other’s sentences now, becoming friends and teasing each other as police and fire guys often will do. Chief Williams of his buddy Lt. Blechl, “he has a real expertise in the organization of these Games.” www.fairfax2015.com
A firefighter and a policeman came from two ends of a spectrum; one working on the Federation contacts and the other planting seeds locally. Blechl established Fairfax 2015, Inc. as a 501 (c) 3 organization to gain support from Fairfax County and private foundations. Both credit Visit Fairfax CEO Barry Biggar for keeping the interest high until two years later when Fairfax beat Toronto and Winnipeg to host these Fairfax 2015 Games, coming June 26 to July 5, 2015.
“Barry has the passion. He understands the Games and what it will mean to the community,” added Chief Williams.
When asked if they ever thought their athletic training or their administrative capability would lead to a large public-private team bringing 12,000 athletes to the region, they both demur and want to spread the credit.
“Watching everyone blossom has been gratifying,” said Chief Williams.
“We are putting on one of the largest multi-sport events in the world,” added Lt. Blechl.
Mike Smith is serving as VP of Marketing for the Fairfax 2015 Games. He volunteers working with inmates at the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center.
