About Us
STAND T.A.L.L. – Thank a Local Lawman© is the registered dba name for the Sentinel Patriot Club of North Carolina, a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation. We raise funds for NC western region law enforcement departments to fulfill needs they may have that are not included in their current budgets.
VISION:
Our goal is to raise funds that will be used for several purposes and events such as providing specialized equipment for personnel as well as for the K-9 Corps, mental health & stress management programs, and tuition support for Blue Ridge Community College for students in the Basic Law Enforcement Training program in the Criminal Justice Department.
Working in collaboration with the Henderson County Sheriff’s Office we annually help to fund as well as participate in their “Shop with a Hero” program that provides Gift Cards for a Christmas shopping trip at Walmart for up to as many as 100 economically and/or otherwise challenged elementary age school children selected by their guidance counselors from County area schools.
We currently support law enforcement agencies in Henderson, Polk, Buncombe, Transylvania, Rutherford, Cherokee, Haywood, and Spartanburg. Our plan is to slowly expand to other counties as more volunteers and Board members join us from these new geographic areas.
How It Began
STAND T.A.L.L. is a copyrighted acronym for a movement called Thank A Local Lawman, and it began as an idea that our founder heard while at an exposition in Atlanta in April of 2016.
The keynote speaker at the opening of that exposition was the now nationally known, outspoken Sheriff of Milwaukee, David Clarke.
Sheriff Clarke said to the audience, "Today, there's a war going on against cops!" He talked of the many challenges today's law enforcement faces and the jobs they're asked to do, sometimes with limited staff, inadequate equipment, and often in the face of great danger; and we know that those who enter law enforcement as a career don't do it for the financial reward, but out of a true concern for their fellow citizens and to do good.
Sheriff Clarke asked only one thing of those in attendance that day, he asked us to take the time to say "thank you" to those in our hometowns who serve and protect us.
It was from that simple request that STAND T.A.L.L. was created, and now more than ever is the right time to grant his request. Here are the You Tube videos and Sheriff Clarke's comments on the "war on cops;" a second video about good cops being motivated to help others, and the third video- a eulogy for a cop who was senselessly gunned down and the ever present threat they face in every day situations... sometimes with just seconds and inches between life & death doing their duty.
Meet The Board
RON KAUFFMAN
Founder & President
1966 Long Island University C.W. Post College - BA
1967 St. John’s University School of Business - MBA
Over 50 years of business experience in retail and high technology including 25 years at the executive levels of Vice President, CEO, and Principal in public, private and nonprofit corporations.
Author of 2 books, newspaper columnist, and live talk-radio show host.
Founder of 2 nonprofits, the first in Florida and the NC Sentinel Patriot Club.
He is a Vietnam Era Army Veteran and an active member of his community.
SHARON HANSON
Vice President
1967 Michigan State University - BA
More than 25 years as a Casework Supervisor and Administrator with the Michigan Department of Social Services.
Vice-Chair of the Michigan StateEmployees Association, Liaison for DSS and Michigan Employment Security Commission, loaned executive on the local FEMA Disaster and Response Team, Red Cross Board Chair and CPR Instructor, Emergency Shelter Coordinator and on-call Counselor and Volunteer Coordinator for The Healing Place.
TIM GRUTZIUS
Board Member
1986 University of Illinois at Chicago – BA
1999 Moraine Valley Community College – AAS
After a 25-year career with the Alsip (Illinois) Fire Department, Tim retired at the rank of Lieutenant/Paramedic in 2019. He and his wife (Judy) of 24 years relocated to the Flat Rock area in June of 2020.
In addition to Stand T.A.L.L., Tim does volunteer work with Illinois Firefighter Peer Support, and the Firefighter Cancer Support Network. Additionally, he is a personal trainer, health coach, Reiki Master practitioner, and a yoga teacher candidate (starting June of 2021). He looks forward to furthering the mission of Stand T.A.L.L. as well as exploring all that the State of North Carolina has to offer.