A 7-year old St. Joseph girl with a lifelong dream of becoming a police officer has been “hired” by the Three Oaks Police Department and drawn her first assignment — to be the department’s ambassador in the world’s largest Flag Day Parade this Sunday.
Kennedy Arney, who has battled complex medical issues since birth, will don her very own Three Oaks Police Department uniform and step off the parade starting at 3pm on Sunday, living the dream of her role on the thin blue line of police work in America.
She is among the youngest to ever be diagnosed by the National Institutes of Health with Juvenile ALS — Lou Gehrig’s Disease — and has required, and will continue to require, a lifetime of critical care.
Despite all of that, the brave young trooper who heads into second grade at Lincoln Elementary School in St. Joseph this fall, recently took part in Nana’s Run in Grand Rapids. That 5k run/walk was a fundraiser for ALS Research. In that event, Kennedy walked alongside retired Grand Rapids Police Officer Scott Bylsma. Officer Bylsma was forced to retire due to his own diagnosis of ALS. Kennedy spent the better part of that 5-kilometer walk telling Scott all about her long time dream to be an officer of the law.
After hearing that story, the wife of Three Oaks Police Chief Dennis Buller, Sr. stepped in and asked Buller if there could be a way for Kennedy Arney to become the youngest member ever of the village’s police force. Without hesitation Chief Buller authorized the St. Joe girl’s appointment as an Honorary Police Officer, acquisition of the proper uniform, and she will receive that gear Sunday afternoon at 1:30pm at the offices of Great Lakes Builders in Three Oaks.
In addition to her uniform and credentials, Kennedy will be presented with her own Three Oaks SUV squad car donated by Three Oaks Ford owner Tom Korkos. Following those presentations and a picnic celebration, Kennedy will proceed to her first assignment, escorting her BFF, Princess Zoe Brault in the world renowned Three Oaks Flag Day Parade.
Kennedy is the daughter of Michael and Jennifer Arney, and has a brother named William. As the family travels the health care path, a GoFundMe page titled Kennedy’s Health Journey has been established to help the family deal with the high costs of specialized health regimens brought on by her diagnosis.
If you would like to learn more and help the family deal with those issues, click the link below and be sure to head for Three Oaks to catch a glimpse of a delightfully spunky young lady living her dream of being a genuine police officer on an ambassadorial mission this weekend. A memorable moment, to be sure.
Here’s the link for the GoFundMe account:
http://GoFundMe.com/KennedyArney
For the record, Kennedy’s father, Michael Arney is my colleague at Mid-West Family Broadcasting in Southwest Michigan.
