Growing up in the Midwest, I had a love/hate relationship with February. The things I loved about February were Valentine’s Day, my dad’s birthday, my birthday, and the fact that it’s the shortest month of the year, which segues nicely into what I hated about February. WINTER! Those 28(9) days seemed to last forever once I outgrew ice skating and sledding, and instead had to get in my car and drive on icy roads for 2-3x my normal commute. Which is the primary reason I moved to Las Vegas in 2014. As a wise friend once said to me, “You can’t shovel sunshine!”
Lucky for me, I found new reasons to love February when I joined Safe Life Defense. First, our CMO Katherine’s birthday is also this month, and second, I have the honor of announcing our newest Guardian Angel winners!
#1 Jamie Araki | Law Enforcement Media Specialist
I am a Law Enforcement Media Specialist for a California Sheriff’s department. My content varies from mini-documentaries and social media content aimed to humanize the individuals at the agency, to being activated as a Public Information Officer and going to active scenes (fires, floods, active shooters, crime scenes, etc.)
As a civilian working for a law enforcement agency, body armor is not natively given to civilian workers. My job is field based, spending my shifts out with deputies on patrol, in helicopters with the air unit, and at trainings with special teams, all with the goal of gathering and creating content that tells the story of our agency. I have found my content to not only intrigue the public in what law enforcement truly is (not the normal rhetoric displayed on the news), but also made the law enforcement officers I film feel honored and appreciated.
In my day-to-day tasks where I am filming patrol deputies doing their jobs, owning body armor would help to not only keep me safe, but also make it so the deputy can focus on their safety and policing, instead of worrying about me. Having body armor would also mean that I could focus on the creative, artistic side of my job more when out with deputies, while remaining protected. The goal is to humanize the individuals behind the badge, create content that interests the public in learning more about law enforcement, inform the communities in emergencies, and go home to do it all again the next day.
#2 James Fitz | Security Officer
I feel that with my experience in law enforcement as a peace officer, that wearing body armor allows me to safely approach a possible dangerous situation in the Security field that I am in. I was raised and trained to run towards trouble not away from it, I hold the words “to protect and serve” seriously, and just because I am no longer in law enforcement and in security doesn’t mean I’ll be running away when people are in danger. Body armor will help me to help others in trouble, with a higher percentage of going home to my wife and children.
I as well as many others need body armor with the way crime and violence is on the rise. I wish to be selected because I want the best body armor on the market, I know a lot of people that wear Safe Life Defense, and they swear by it. I have researched and have found their testimony to be true.
As a past peace officer, I heard an old saying that “no one loves the warrior class until the enemies are at the gate”. Wearing body armor means that I have the protection to be the Sheep Dog, a protector and guardian of those that may not be able to protect themselves from the violence and might I say some evil that is in our society. My whole life I’ve been called a white knight, I stuck up for the little guy and detest bullies. Donning that armor is a physical, mental and spiritual experience that few will know, and even fewer will truly appreciate.
#3 Alaynna Goheen | Animal Control Officer
Having body armor is not something I initially thought I would need in this field, however I quickly learned that this job is not just playing with puppies and kittens. Some of the calls we get are engrained in our memories, and the people we have to encounter to save some of the animals has put myself and my coworkers in danger. I would be overwhelmed with gratitude to have another means of protection while doing my job.
We are often called by our local law enforcement agencies to assist them, and to be able to come help them without them worrying about my safety as much would be a relief for all departments involved, and we can get the animals the aid they need faster.
I have been an Animal Control Officer for almost 6 years and some of the situations that we find ourselves in can be dangerous. We never know for sure how someone is going to react to the calls that we respond to. As I do not ever want to be in the situation where it is needed, I would also like to not be sorry that I did not have the proper protection if the situation did arise.
Owning body armor means the protection for myself, for my department, for my community, and for my family. It means it’s one less thing I have to worry about and one more aid in ensuring I can come home to my son and my own pets.
