Kerrville Citizens Police Academy Alumni Association: they turned a pile of donated boots into a walk-in shoe store in two hours

When the flood hit on July 4, 2025, Sergeant Jonathan Lamb made one call. Laura Davis was at the back door of the police department within 15 minutes.

From that morning through the end of August, the Kerrville Citizens Police Academy Alumni Association worked alongside the Kerrville Police Department in ways that rarely made the news — sweeping floors, taking out trash, controlling access to the department, and organizing the avalanche of relief supplies that began arriving within days of the disaster.

The most memorable moment, Lamb said Friday on Lead Live’s Nonprofit Week, involved boots.

First responders who had been working in the river channel for days had feet so saturated, their boots had rotted off. Generous donors and manufacturers shipped replacement footwear — but it arrived as one giant, disorganized jumble. The alumni stepped in.

“The KCPAAA took charge of that mess,” Lamb said, “and in just a couple of hours they organized a walk-in shoe store… divided by men’s and women’s, section by size, where you could go in and if you needed a new pair of boots, you could find it easily.”

That work — unglamorous, invisible, necessary — earned the association the Texas Citizen Police Academy Alumni Association’s “Association of the Year” award on June 15, 2026. The organization, which has more than 80 members, was the statewide winner specifically because of its 2025 flood response.

“They were there for us when we needed them most,” Lamb said, “and when this community needed them most. And we will always have a debt to them.”

Lamb appeared Friday alongside Laura Davis and Rose Bradshaw. Davis joined the program, she said, because she “was bored and I need to get out of the house.” The class transformed how she sees local law enforcement.

“The biggest surprise I had was after taking the class is how prepared our police department is,” she said. “I felt a sense of comfort in my community that I hadn’t felt before.”

She volunteered for three years before accepting a part-time staff position at the new Public Safety Facility. Bradshaw was recruited four years ago and said her favorite moments are watching officers interact with local children — watching kids realize that officers are not the bad guys.

The alumni run several ongoing programs. Citizens on Patrol includes a River Trail Patrol — a rolling information booth that serves as the department’s eyes and ears along the trail — and a Handicap Parking Patrol whose volunteers are authorized to write official citations for handicap space violations. Blue Santa, which started in a retired detective’s garage, is now entirely organized and executed by alumni volunteers. The program screens applicants for need and provides children with toys, clothing, shoes, haircuts, and holiday meals in coordination with Rotary and Lions clubs. This year Blue Santa is facing a significant funding shortage heading into the holiday season.

To raise funds for operations and Blue Santa, the association is running a raffle through Oct. 31 — $20 per ticket, six for $100. Prizes include a Smith & Wesson M&P 15 Sport III rifle, a Glock handgun, a silver bracelet from Bobbles Jeweler, and a custom dapple cowhide concealed carry crossbody purse. If 1,000 tickets are sold, a third firearm is added to the prize pool. Volunteers begin selling at Moors Furniture Saturday morning.

Upcoming programs: Citizen Police Academy begins Sept. 24. National Night Out is Oct. 6. Drug Take-Back and the Water Street Festival are Oct. 24. Blue Santa registration opens in October at the Glory Garden.

To support Blue Santa or join the alumni association: contact the Kerrville Police Department.