Dear Editor,

On behalf of the Pelham Police Department, I would like to thank Mayor Don Murphy, Butch Byrd, Hal Brown, the staff of Ballantrae Golf Course, the volunteers and the many individuals and companies that donated money and/or items that made the Philip Davis Memorial Golf Tournament a huge success.

During the event, we had 37 golf teams totaling 147 players. This was a record high for our event and I cannot express how wonderful it was to see such a spectacular turnout.

In December 2009, officer Philip Mahan Davis was shot and killed in the line of duty. Officer Davis had made a traffic stop and after issuing a traffic citation, the suspect opened fire and fatally shot Officer Davis and fled the scene. The suspect was apprehended two hours later and has since been found guilty of two counts of capital murder and was sentenced to death on June 16, 2011.

After the murder of Officer Philip Davis, a charity was created in his honor to assist families of First Responders who have been murdered or injured in the line of duty in the Shelby County area. With your gracious assistance, we were able to raise over $17,000.

In closing, I again would like to thank everyone who participated in the event for their time, kindness and generosity.

Without you it would not be possible to continue to help others in the name of Officer Philip Mahan Davis.

Police Chief Tommy Thomas

Pelham Police Department