Aftermath Services Announces the Winners of the 2018 K9 Grant Competition

AURORA, Ill. (November 12th, 2018) – Today, Aurora, IL based biohazard remediation company, Aftermath Services LLC, announced the recipients of the 2018 Aftermath K9 Grant. The annual competition awards funding to law enforcement for existing or prospective K9 programs for safety equipment, training, and other expenses associated with maintaining a K9 unit.

Open to law enforcement organizations nationwide, Aftermath’s 8th Annual K9 Grant Competition involved over 3,000 agencies representing 48 states. During the nomination period October 1^st through October 16^th, civilians and officers nominated departments to be voted on; votes were collected October 18^th through November 5^th on the company’s website and Instagram page. Over 280,000 votes were counted during the 16-day voting period.

Fourteen grants totaling $20,000 were awarded this year, up from $16,500 in 2017. The 1^st place winner, Larksville Borough Police Department of Larksville, PA, will receive a $5,000 grant. The department was previously an runner-up in the 2016 Grant Competition before winning the top spot this year.

In addition to the grand prize, five other winning grants were awarded to:

• Tucson Police Department, AZ for $4,000
• Clinton Police Department, CT for $3,000
• Pekin Police Department, IL for $2,000
• Marion County Sheriffs Department, FL for $1,000; and
• Peoria County Sheriffs Department, IL for $1,000.

As in years past, due to overwhelming voter turn-out and closeness in vote totals, Aftermath elected to award $500 grants to 9 runners up. These departments include:

• North Port Police Department, FL
• Great Barrington Police Department, MA
• Warrensburg Police Department, MO
• Peekskill Police Department, NY
• Cherokee County Sheriffs Office, GA
• Wausau Police Department, WI
• Santa Barabara County Sheriffs Office, CA
• Corona Police Department, CA

About the winner

Larksville is a small Pennsylvanian town of approximately 4,500 residents. The K9 unit was a project originally conceived of by Larksville resident Donna Michak. Thanks to Michak’s fundraising efforts and the generosity of the local community, K9 Officer Una joined the force five years ago. The majority of the unit’s funding continues to come from local businesses and fundraisers.

On weekdays, Una and her handler, Officer Josh Evans, are stationed at the local high school. Una is also called upon to perform traffic searches, narcotics busts, and bomb sniffing duties within Larksville and the surrounding areas. According to Larksville’s Chief Edwards, Una is a Larksville celebrity; her popularity with the community and the goodwill and cooperation she embodies illustrate yet another value of creating K9 unit.

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 its 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 created the K9 Grant in order 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.