Aftermath Services Announces the Winners of the 2017 K9 Grant Competition

AURORA, Ill. (November 10th, 2017) – Aurora, IL based biohazard remediation company, Aftermath Services LLC, announced the recipients of its 2017 Aftermath K9 Grant. The yearly competition awards funding to law enforcement agencies and their existing or prospective K9 programs for maintenance, safety equipment, or officer training. Officers and community members nominated and voted for local departments; eight grants, totaling over $16,500, were awarded this year.

The 1^st place winner, the Pekin Police Department of Pekin, IL, will receive $5,000. Pekin placed second in the 2016 Grant before winning the top spot this year with over 33,000 votes.

In addition to Pekin Police Department, grants were awarded to:

• Alamogordo Police Department of Alamogordo, NM for $4,000
• Marys Police Department of St. Marys, GA for $3,000
• Avon Police Department of Avon, IL for $2,000; and
• Pflugerville Police Department of Pflugerville, TX for $1,000.

Due to the overwhelming response to the K9 Grant, Aftermath decided to award three additional $500 grants for runners up. These departments include:

• Miami Police Department, Miami, FL
• Rooks County Sheriff’s Office, Rooks County, KS; and
• Marietta Police Department, Marietta, OH.

Open to law enforcement organizations nationwide, Aftermath’s 6th Annual K9 Grant Competition involved just over 3,300 agencies. During the 5-day nomination period in early October, civilians and officers added their local agencies to a registry to be voted on during the voting period; votes were collected from October 11^th through November 7^th, 2017. Throughout the contest, departments were encouraged to get involved by participating in social media and promoting the contest to colleagues, friends, and neighbors. Voters cast their votes online each day by visiting the Aftermath website. Over 331,000 votes were received in 2017 – more than double the number of votes received in the previous year.

About the winner

Pekin is a town of 35,000 people, located in central Illinois. It is the county seat for Tazewell County, and one of the largest cities in the Peoria, IL metropolitan area. Pekin is best known for its Marigold Festival, hosted over Labor Day weekend. The town is also home to the Federal Correctional Institution, Pekin (FCIP), a medium-to-low security institution which houses over 1,200 inmates.

Protecting Pekin is a police force of 56 officers. Pekin’s K9 unit was formed in 1993; over the years, the department has had three K9 officers. The unit’s current K9 Officer is a Dutch Shepherd named Ahen. He and handler Officer Rob Jones are certified through the Illinois State Police/ILESTB. Ahen is skilled in narcotics detection, tracking and suspect apprehension; he is also a great ambassador for the department, regularly visiting local schools and community functions.

Representatives from Aftermath will meet with the Pekin Police Department and other winners later this month to present the awards.

Media Contact
Tina Bao
Chief Marketing Officer
(630) 423-4254
tbao@aftermath.com

About Aftermath Services LLC.

Aftermath Services is the premier provider of trauma cleaning and biohazard remediation. For more than 20 years, we have provided professional and compassionate services to families, communities, and businesses after traumatic events. We believe that our customers deserve the highest quality service while being treated with dignity and respect. With 32 locations nationwide and emergency response available 24/7/365, our qualified and experienced crime scene cleanup professionals are able to help customers with a full range of biohazard remediation and cleaning assistance, including: homicide, suicide, unattended death, personal or industrial accidents, tear gas, and communicable disease outbreaks.

Since founding, Aftermath has proudly recognized the contributions made by law enforcement officers and first responders for their ongoing efforts to protect and improve their communities through the Aftermath Cares program. The Annual K9 Grant is one aspect of the program. Aftermath founded the K9 Grant in an effort to help offset the cost of creating or maintaining a K9 program so that communities have continued access to this valuable resource. Each year, law enforcement agencies across the country are encouraged to participate in the K9 Grant by gathering votes through word-of-mouth, social media, and local news outlets. For more information on trauma cleaning services, or to learn more about the relationship between Aftermath and law enforcement, visit www.aftermath.com.