Pierre, South Dakota - Leroy Lewis of Plattsmouth, NE , was selected as TruckVault’s first recipient of a filmed, all-expense paid, “Hero Hunt” that will air as part of TruckVault’s television series in Q3 2009. TruckVault’s Xtreme Hunts is slated to air, beginning July 2009, as part of the Americana Outdoors series produced by Careco Productions. TruckVault’s Hero Hunt segments are part of an ongoing series within the show that honor and recognize heroes in the public safety sector for their commitment to public service.
Lewis was nominated for the trip by his son Zach who had read about the Hero Hunt program in a national law enforcement publication. From there Zach got on his dad’s computer and wrote a detailed letter describing why he felt his dad was deserving of the all expenses paid hunt. “It was a very touching and heartfelt letter”, said Don Fenton, Sales & marketing Director at TruckVault, “You could tell that Zach thought the world of his dad and was extremely proud of him.”
Leroy has an incredible public service background, starting with his career in the Air Force in 1986 in the Security Police field where he pulled duty in Korea, Montana, Turkey , and Offutt AFB-Nebraska. He was a member of the SAC Elite Guard for nine years at Offutt before leaving active duty in April 1999 to take a job with the City of Plattsmouth Police Department.
As if he wasn’t doing enough to serve his community Leroy also became a member of the Plattsmouth Volunteer Fire/Rescue department in 1991 and currently holds the position of Lt. where his department, on average, runs 200 fire calls and 700 rescue calls for the year.
In April of 1999 he entered into the Air National Guard in Lincoln, NE, where Lewis has done two 90-day tours in Turkey, one 120-day tour to Kuwait, one 120-day tour to Spain, a 2-week detainee movement in Afghanistan, 3 weeks of Hurricane relief in Mississippi, Border Patrol duty in New Mexico, and two one year call backs to active duty during 9-11. Leroy finally retired in November 2008 with 22-½ years service as a Master Sergeant in the Security Forces career field.
Currently Leroy is with the Plattsmouth Police Department working as the School Resource Officer where his duties include road patrol, firearms instruction, DARE instructor, Vehicle Maintenance officer, Speed Trailer operator and EMT. He teaches numerous classes ranging from Stranger Danger to the Head Start students to Law Related Crimes to Middle School and High School students.
As a recipient of the honor, Lewis received an all expenses paid trip from his home in Nebraska to meet up with Xtreme Hunts show host Mark Kayser and TruckVault’s Don Fenton for three days of late season pheasant and waterfowl hunting in Pierre, SD , at the Warne Ranch. Leroy was also joined by his National Guardsman brother, Scott, who filled in for his son who could not get away from school to make the trip.
This wasn’t to be your run of the mill warm weather South Dakota bird hunt by any means, but rather a tough as it gets, bitter cold, late-season hunt that tested everyone’s resolve. The blizzard warnings and dropping temps didn’t stop the cameras from rolling however and set the stage for some incredible pheasant, duck and goose hunting that will not be soon forgotten by our host and hero.
“We are extremely privileged to be able to offer this sort of opportunity to some very deserving folks in the law enforcement community.”, said TruckVault’s Don Fenton. “The men and women who serve this great country deserve more credit than they get at times. This is our 4th Hero Hunt and each one just seems to get better and better. These are truly amazing people and I love the fact that we have this opportunity to give something back to them for the relatively unrecognized day-in and day-out job they do for all of us.”
To submit your own “Hero Hunt” nomination for the 2009 airing season of TruckVault’s Xtreme Hunts, contact Don Fenton at donf@truckvault.com.
About TruckVault Inc.
Since its founding in 1995, TruckVault, Inc. has lead the secure in-vehicle storage industry by offering their customers the best products, service, and overall value in the marketplace. TruckVault customers are among thousands of sports enthusiasts, hundreds of local police and fire departments, all five branches of the U.S. Armed Forces, the US Secret Service, FBI, DEA, INS, ATF, U.S. Marshals, FEMA, BLM, BIA, U.S. Dept. of Energy, EPA, IRS, National Parks Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife, USPS, and the BCBP to name a few. For more information about TruckVault, Inc., please visit their web site at www.truckvault.com.