Matt Rawding (left) and Bobby Edwards of Morristown Local
43 partnered to place second.
enforcement officers truly deserve.
“I wanted to give these guys some rec-
ognition and some satisfaction,” Mulvihill
explained. “They should feel that when
they come to our place, they’re home.”
To make them feel welcome, Mulvihill
began by presenting a donation to Phillips
to support the Unity Tour. And the oppor-
tunity to come together away from the job,
swap some stories and share a cigar and
cold beverage helped double the partic-
ipation from the inaugural event in 2017.
So players couldn’t help but feel right at
home upon arrival.
“The first thing you see when you pulled
up was that pig roasting,” savored Nicho-
las Adamo from West Essex Local 81 of the
main course to be served up once the golf
concluded. “We couldn’t wait to get back
and eat. They really went out of their way
to support what we do.”
If the way to an officer’s heart doesn’t
come through the stomach, then it comes
through pride. Or instilling pride. And the
Law Enforcement Open seemed to accom-
plish that just by giving officers a day to
themselves with a little red-carpet admi-
ration.
“Crystal Springs does a great job of sup-
porting police officers with a time for us to
get together and be proud of our job,” Mark
Dubois declared. “Sometimes, we don’t get
the support we like to see. It’s wonderful to
see people do recognize what we do for our
community.”
To enhance the feeling of pride, the
tournament once again featured flags for
the pins on each hole made up with the
patches of the departments playing. Some
of the flags are now posted in those depart-
ments; others have been added to a display
Nicholas Adamo (left) and George Henderson from West Essex Local 81 teamed up to shoot a 74 and
get into the playoff .
at Crystal Springs.
Don’t be surprised to see the flags made
up for the Unity Tour flying on some of the
bicycles en route to National Police Week
next May. And at next year’s open, the flag
for the National Law Enforcement Officers
Memorial will be flying atop Ballyowen.
All of which prompted Phillips to pin-
point the word that summed up the attrac-
tion for so many officers to come to this
event.
“Comfortable,” he expressed. “Playing
with all your brothers and sisters, you’re
comfortable. You get to compete with
them, have a good time and you get away
from the job for a minute.”
Masters-piece
Of course, they also came for the golf,
and these guys can definitely play. Of the
31 groups, 13 finished with a score under
80, including Phillips and Palardy shooting
a 79. In the two-man, best-ball format on
a Ballyowen course where it’s easy to lose
a ball on any hole, the teams that made it
to the playoffs were the ones that kept the
ball in the fairway and played it safe.
Adamo and his partner, George Hender-
son, who both work for the Caldwell Police
Department, did just that in finishing tied
for fourth place with a round of 74. He not-
ed the other aspects making the round dif-
CONTINUED ON PAGE 63
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