Community Corner

They Showed Up, They Gave, They Rumbled

Riders, along with owners of 30 plus classic cars on display and vendors, banded together to raise money for the Prince family, who lost their two sons Griffin and Jake.

Nearly 300 people showed up Saturday for the 

The event, sponsored by the Dawson County Sheriff's Office with assistance from Hall, Lumpkin, and , was a huge success, according to Lt. Doug Boyle of the Dawson County Sheriff's Office, who organized the day's activities.

"It was a fantastic event – an overwhelming response from the North Georgia area," said Boyle.

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Riders, along with owners of 30 plus classic cars on display and vendors, banded together to raise money for the Prince family, .

All proceeds from the 70-mile police escorted ride and classic car cruise-in were given to the family to help offset the funeral and burial costs of the boys.

Find out what's happening in Cummingwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

"The North Georgia community really came together for the Prince family in their time of sorrow," said Sheriff Billy Carlisle of the DCSO in a press release.

Lorraine Wilson, one of the riders's, said she participated in the event because of her love to give back to people and the community.

"To be able to help in some little way and to show the love and support to the family," she said.

The Prince family released this statement on the Griffin and Jake Prince Memorial Page on Facebook.

A Family Statement: Saturday, August 11, 2012

On behalf of the Prince and Hansen families, who have suffered with the loss of our two boys, Griffin and Jake Prince, we express our continued gratitude and wonder at the love we have been shown by so many people. We continue to feel your prayers and your compassion, as not a day goes by that there are not phone calls, text messages, emails, FaceBook posts, Instagram pictures, and personal expressions of condolence for our loss.

We are especially grateful to members of the Public Safety Community, who have taken us under their loving care as if we were a part of their elite family of Officers and their loved ones. This wonderful event is another evidence of the love we have felt from our HEROES, and we thank them all from the bottom of our hearts.

Today, our special thanks is offered to Doug and Debra Boyle, who have made this event possible, and who have worked tirelessly to take care of all of the details that go into something like this. They are the organization leaders and “Point People” from the Sherif’f’’s Departments of Dawson, Lumpkin, Forsyth, & Hall Counties.

And, we thank all of you who have joined with us today to honor Griffin and Jake. We hope this will be a day of joy for each of you and a day filled with fun. We want you to be happy today, as Griffin and Jake loved Lake Lanier and all of the land around it. They died doing something they loved to do, and we know they are with us today, even though we cannot see them for the time being. We are certain that they would be the first to ask you to smile, to love life, to enjoy the company of family and friends, and to take pleasure in doing something worthwhile today.

We would also make special mention of the fact that as a result of the tragedy we have suffered, there is a groundswell of activity among the Public Safety Community, the District Attorney’s Offices, the Georgia Legislature, and the Governor’s Office to improve and strengthen the laws governing the use of our lakes and waterways in Georgia; to seek to require safety training for boaters; and to increase the presence of Law Enforcement on the water. We hope each of you will be supporters of, and ambassadors for these efforts, wherever you live in Georgia. No one should have to ever again go through what our family has endured.

Finally, we thank a loving Father in Heaven for his kindness, love and support as we seek to move forward with our lives. Certainly, he knows what it is like to lose a Son, as he offered his Son, our Savior that we might live again and be with our families through his Plan of Happiness.

To see more pictures of the event visit Lt. Doug Boyle's Facebook page.


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