So far in 2007, members of my crew and I have volunteered 100 hours to repair the car and trailer and perform any required maintenance. We have spent an additional 60 hours to attend events on our time without pay or compensation. In addition we have driven 1100 miles so far this year to attend the various events. Here is what we have done each month with the program so far this year:

January/February/March - The car was picked up from Second Generation who did a great job on the body and paint as can be seen in the pictures. A special thanks to Mark's Auto Paints for their assistance with the paint. The car was taken to the Davie Police Department where a light bar donated by Federal Signal was installed along with the police markings.

From there it went into my garage for two days of washing, waxing, cleaning and polishing. Most of the sponsor decals were also placed on the body and I am waiting for a few more to be finished. The rear spoiler is also at an airbrush artist and should be completed in the first week of April.

April  The custom artwork was finished on the rear spoiler and it was re-installed on the racecar. Pictures of this work can be seen on the website. Now that the car is finished it gave me an opportunity to display the racecar at a few events.

First we attended the Battle of the Imports race in Orlando, Florida, to support the Orange County Sheriffs Office Beat the Heat program. We displayed the car, made exhibition runs and provided several interviews to the local media and racing publications that were on hand to cover the event. Over 1,000 people stopped by the trailer to look at the car and talk about the program.

I then displayed the car at a local Cub Scout Pinewood Derby competition and all 100 kids from the local pack were on hand to sit in the car and ask questions about the car.

May - We attended the Tower Shoppes Classic Car Show along with other members from the Broward and Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office. This was the first time at the weekly show with the new car and we had approximately 1,000 kids and adults stop by to see the new Beretta.

June - We attended three events and displayed our race car along with other members from the Broward Sheriff's Office and Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office.

On June 7th, we displayed the car at a Boy Scout Camp in Davie. We spoke with over 300 Cub Scouts and have been asked to attend other events involving Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts in the future.

On June 9th, we assisted the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office with a community outreach car show by displaying the car and talking with local residents.

On June 29th, we displayed the race car at the Tower Shoppes in Davie at the weekly car show. As usual the car drew a large crowd all night, especially when the lights were turned on! This event is often used by local street racers to hang out and plan their illegal street races that often conducted on Interstate 595 which runs through Davie or in the warehouse district in east Davie along SW 47 Ave. I am attempting to divert these racers to Moroso Motorosports Park or the County Line Raceway which recently opened near the Dade/Broward county line on US27. My crew and I will continue to make a monthly appearance at this event to try and prevent further street racing in Davie.

In July and August we worked finalizing the Department of Transportation grant that we will be using to purchase a new trailer for program. We will also be purchasing video equipment and monitors so that we can show our educational videos while attending events.

We are also preparing the car to attend the annual Beat the Heat World Finals in Chattanooga, Tennessee on 9/20-9/22. There will be over 50 police racecars from all over the country attending this event and we will be representing the Davie Police Department.

In September, we attended the 2007 Beat the Heat World Finals hosted by the Chattanooga, Tennessee, Police chapter. Our new 40 Vintage Outlaw Race Trailer that was purchased using a Department of Transportation grant arrived Monday morning on 9/17/07. Our newly assigned 2004 Dodge Ram 2500 was also painted and striped and finished the same day. My crew and I spent all day Tuesday 9/18/07 getting the new trailer ready for the trip. We then cleaned and loaded the Beretta into the trailer before getting a few hours of sleep.

We left south Florida on 9/19/07 at 5am and headed for Chattanooga. After a 13-hour drive we arrived in town. On Thursday 9/20/07 we displayed the Beretta in downtown Chattanooga next to its famous aquarium along with 40 other cars from all over the country. We spoke with 150 kids as they came by to see the show. Local news media was also on hand to cover the event.

On Friday 9/21/07, we went to the Brainerd Optimist Drag way for some test and tune time. Despite some bugs with the fuel system, the Beretta ran 6.30@115mph in the eighth mile track. We also had 200 kids come by the car and talk to us about the program.

Saturday 9/22/07, was the day of the Beat the Heat World Finals race at Brainerd Optimist Drag way. We arrived early to fix the problems with the fuel pump, change the spark plugs and clean up the Beretta for the race. I would be competing in the Pro Cop class reserved for cars running faster than 10.99 in the ¼ mile. The first pass I made during time trials netted a .501 reaction time and the car ran 5.976@117mph with a 1.358 60 time. The second pass I was a little slow on the lights with .563 reaction time and the car ran 5.999@117mph with a 1.386 60 time. I lined up for the first round of eliminations against the team from the Los Angeles Sheriffs Office in California. I dialed in a 5.96 for this run and was handed an easy win after my opponent left too early and red lit. Not that it would have mattered as my reaction time was .554 and the Beretta ran 5.96, right on the dial in time. In the second round I faced the team from Colony, Texas. By now the weather had cooled significantly so I selected a 5.95 dial in time. I had a better reaction time, my .561 to his .699, but at the end of the track I broke out by running too fast with a 5.92. The 60 time had also improved to 1.340. We headed back to the pits and spoke to over 1000 people and kids throughout the day and night. After the race we packed everything up in preparation for out trip home.

This was our first actual race with the new Beretta and we will be correcting a few things during some upcoming test and tune sessions. The Florida chapter will also be hosting the 2008 World Finals Race in Gainesville, Florida sometime in October 2008.

October- On 10/20/07, I attended the Palm Beach Sheriffs Office 3rd Annual Classic Car, Truck and Motorcycle Show that benefits the Shop with a cop holiday program. There were over 200 vehicles on display at the show and I spoke with over 300 people while displaying the racecar there.

November- On the 4th we attended the new monthly South Florida Beat the Heat race at Countyline dragway in Miami. We attended the event with other members from Medley PD, the Broward Sheriffs Office and the Palm Beach County Sheriffs Office. We spoke with 300 kids and young adults about the program and then opened up the track to let them race against us for the chance to win an I Beat the Heat t-shirt. We raced against five other racers and managed to lose only one round.

On the 10th and 11th, we attended the First Annual Florida Gang Investigators Association Rod Run and Bike Show in Okeechobee. During this large event we were visited by 3200 kids and adults, providing several photo opportunities for the kids to sit in the racecar.

December  On the 2nd we attended the monthly South Florida Beat the Heat race at Countyline Dragway in Miami. We spoke with 300 kids and young adults about the program and street racing. We then lined up and raced against four different drivers. We managed to win every round and no t-shirts were awarded. Unfortunately, we also broke the rear suspension on the racecar and had to spend the next weekend fixing it.

On the 28th, we attended the Tower Shoppes Classic Car show and displayed the racecar. We spoke with approximately 550 kids and young adults and handed out flyers with the future race dates at Countyline Dragway.

Despite not having the new racecar ready until the end of April, we had another successful year and look forward to attending more events in 2008.