By Lateef Mungin
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — If you are looking for Gwinnett Sheriff Butch Conway, he’s in Canada riding a motorcycle.
And he won’t be back until July.
But don’t worry, this road trip is for a good cause. Conway has promised to ride his Harley-Davidson motorcycle from Alaska to Florida to raise money for the Special Olympics.
The Gwinnett Sheriff’s Department has collected more than $50,000 in sponsorship money for Special Olympics athletes for the 6,700-mile trek, dubbed the Iron Torch Ride, said Stacey Bourbonnais, spokeswoman for the department.
Conway and one of his supervisors, Maj. Mike Powell, flew to Alaska on June 17. They were among a contingent of 50 law enforcement officers from across the United States who were scheduled to take part in the ride.
For the first days of the ride, Conway and the other officers had to travel a stretch of Alaskan roadway that was paved with loose gravel, Bourbonnais said.
“There have been a couple crashes with minor injuries,” Bourbonnais said. “The sheriff and Mike are fine. They did not crash. But I heard that one of the officers may have suffered a broken wrist and another injured his leg.”
Conway, scheduled to make it to Calgary today, should ride back into Georgia on July 3. He’ll ride his motorcycle in a July 4 parade in Atlanta, Bourbonnais said, and then head to Florida. He’ll end the trip in Key West on July 7, Bourbonnais said.
Bourbonnais said she talked to Conway on Thursday.
“He was doing great,” Bourbonnais said. “He was in good spirits. But they knew they had a long way to go. We are hoping to surprise him with a lot more sponsorships when he gets back.”
Conway posted a letter about the ride on the sheriff’s department Web site.
“We will be attempting to break a world record by becoming the largest group to complete this ride,” Conway wrote. “We are asking that you sponsor us. ... We are paying our own expenses for this ride, so all donations go directly to Special Olympics athletes.”
According to the Special Olympics Web site, the Gwinnett Sheriff’s Department led all Georgia police agencies in raising money last year. Information about the ride and sponsorship can be found on the Gwinnett Sheriff’s Department Web site at www.gwinnettcountysheriff.com.
Copyright 2007 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution