Organizers for Warren County BackStoppers haven’t finished collecting donations or paying bills for their annual fundraising event, but chairman Jeff Backhaus expects their donation for this year to beat 2018’s record $80,000.The Warren County chapter will also easily clear $500,000 in donations since it started fund-raising in 2011, Backhaus said.BackStoppers is a St. Louis-regional organization that provides financial assistance to the families of law enforcement, firefighters and paramedics who are killed or severely injured while performing their duties.Backhaus, chief of Marthasville Volunteer Fire Department and one of the founding members of the Warren County BackStoppers chapter, said support from the local community has exceeded anything he expected starting out. In the beginning, Backhaus said the hope was to raise $10,000 to $20,000 each year.Instead, organizers have regularly brought in several times that amount each year and continually set new records for their donations for first responders. Backhaus said that’s a sign of how much Warren County community members care about the first responders who are here to protect them.“It makes me feel great as a fire chief,” he commented. “Knowing that especially in my line of work as a volunteer firefighter . . . to know that our spouses and our kids are taken care of is very gratifying.”The primary Warren County fundraiser for BackStoppers each year is a dinner, dance and auction with hundreds of guests hosted at the St. Ignatius Community Center in Concord Hill. Backhaus said he is thankful for every committee member and volunteer who helps make the fundraiser happen each year.Winter weather and snow on the roads kept some guests and volunteers from attending this year, but it did not keep away the person organizers said was the most important guest of the night.Becky (Cole) Trammell-Pruett came to the BackStoppers fundraiser for the first time this year to remember her father, Deputy Lonnie Cole, who was killed on duty in 2003. Cole is one of three Warren County officers remembered every year at the BackStoppers event.“This is the first time I’ve been able to get myself to come,” said Becky, who came with her husband, Mark Pruett. She told the gathered BackStoppers supporters the three things she remembers about the day her father died on duty.“There was a knock on the door, and some police officers were saying that my dad wasn’t here anymore. That was really hard,” she described, fighting back tears. “The second thing I remember was a really long funeral procession with a lot of police cars, ambulances and fire trucks, and meeting what felt like a million faces. “Taps” playing at his funeral, and “Amazing Grace.”“The third thing I remember is BackStoppers saying ‘We are here for you,’ and that meant a lot. So thank you so much for everyone being here . . . for future families who have to go through this, so it’s not as difficult as it would be.”The other officers honored every year at BackStoppers are Warren County deputy and Hawk Point Police Chief Paul Fricke, and Truesdale police officer Vernon Seals.After the closing of a silent auction and a lively oral auction, attendees at the BackStoppers event were treated to the music of Butch Wax and the Hollywoods.Backhaus said the final tally of this year’s donation for BackStoppers would be determined at an upcoming date. He said the organization currently has T-shirts for sale that will contribute to BackStoppers. Shirts are $20 for short sleeve and $25 for long sleeve. They can be purchased through the Warren County BackStoppers Organization Facebook page, or by emailing Backhaus at chief@marthasvillefire.org.

Becky (Cole) Trammell-Pruett and husband Mark Pruett attended the Warren County BackStoppers fundraiser for the first time Feb. 16. Becky’s family received support from BackStoppers after her father, Deputy Lonnie Cole, died in the line of duty in 2003.

Record photo/Adam Rollins

Sgt. Scott Taylor, left, and Sgt. Jeff Scanlon with the Warren County Sheriff’s Department bow their heads and hug during the playing of “Amazing Grace” in honor of three Warren County officers who died in the line of duty. They and hundreds of others attended the annual BackStoppers fundraiser Feb. 16 in Concord Hill.

Record photo/Adam Rollins

Members of the Marthasville Volunteer Fire Department Honor Guard salute the photos of three Warren County law enforcement officers who have died in the line of duty, during a commemoration ceremony at the annual Warren County BackStoppers fundraiser Feb. 16 in Concord Hill.

Record photo/Adam Rollins