By Terry Witt – Spotlight Senior Reporter

                Donations by civic organizations sometimes make a big difference in the lives of people, though the impact may never be known to the givers.

            This story is about one donation that made a big difference.

            In October of 2021, the Ocala Elks Club donated two AEDs (Automatic External Defibrillators) to the Williston Police Department.

            Mike Rolls, Exalted Ruler of the Elks Lodge at that time and an officer in the Williston Police Department, and now Williston Police Chief, had made a request to the club for the AEDs.

            Former Williston Police Chief Dennis Strow, also a member of the Ocala Elks Lodge, was pleased to accept the donation.

            Fast forward to December 2022.

            Officers of the Williston Police Department were dispatched to a medical emergency and arrived at the scene before the Levy County Emergency Medical Services ambulance.

            City police officers pulled an AED from one of their patrol cars and applied the device to the patient. This helped prepare the patient for transport, saving the paramedics time and facilitating a faster transition to medical care at a hospital, according to a February 2023 Elks Lodge newsletter.

            “We don’t always hear about when a donation has made a difference. This is one time that we, members of the Ocala Elks Lodge, had a direct impact,” the newsletter said.

            Strow provided this information to Spotlight.

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Enterprise Reporting by Terry Witt February 5, 2023; Posted February 5, 2023