NASSAU COUNTY, Fla. \u2014 A Lee County man is traveling across Florida on a mission to honor first responders while remembering his late brother, a deputy who died in 2011.<\/p>\n
Spencer Crutchley of Cape Coral recently stopped in Nassau County as part of his goal to collect signatures and patches from all 67 sheriffs in Florida.<\/p>\n
Crutchley visited the Nassau County Sheriff\u2019s Office, where Sheriff Bill Leeper presented him with a challenge coin and signed his Volkswagen Beetle, which is serving as a moving tribute during the journey.<\/p>\n
So far, Crutchley has visited 30 sheriffs across the state and said the response has been overwhelmingly positive.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt means a lot to every sheriff in the state that he comes by and wants them to sign his vehicle and tribute to his family member that he lost in the line of duty,\u201d Leeper said.<\/p>\n
The mission is deeply personal for Crutchley.<\/p>\n
In January 2011, his brother, Lee County Sheriff\u2019s Deputy Scott Wheeler, died in an off-duty motorcycle crash involving a vehicle in Cape Coral.<\/p>\n
Now, Crutchley is channeling that loss into a project that recognizes first responders and the people who support them.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne of the first responders that I do think of a lot is the victim advocates,\u201d Crutchley said.<\/p>\n
Among those he highlighted was Tasha Addison, who has served as a victim advocate with the Nassau County Sheriff\u2019s Office for 14 years.<\/p>\n
\u201cI always say that we are the support on scene after the SOS goes out with law enforcement and firefighters. Our work does not just stop once the case has been closed. It continues and we become a part of the family,\u201d Addison said.<\/p>\n
Crutchley\u2019s journey has taken him across large portions of Florida, sometimes visiting multiple agencies in a single day.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn one day, I did Volusia, Seminole, Brevard, Indian River, St. Lucie,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Despite the extensive travel, Crutchley is not a law enforcement officer. He works full time as a manager at Lowe\u2019s and uses his personal time to continue the project.<\/p>\n
He said he alternates taking weeks off from work to travel and sometimes visits agencies after completing his morning shift.<\/p>\n
Crutchley said he is personally covering the costs of the trip. To help offset fuel and lodging expenses for a planned trip to Police Weekend 2027 in Washington, D.C., he held a raffle rather than seeking donations.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo yesterday I started at 8:30 in the morning and went until about 7 o\u2019clock last night,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
When asked what keeps him going, Crutchley had a simple answer.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy mission. My passion to thank all first responders.\u201d<\/p>\n
His journey through Northeast Florida is continuing with stops planned in Jacksonville, Baker, Bradford, Union and Columbia counties. He hopes to collect many of the remaining signatures at the Florida Sheriffs Association conference in January.<\/p>\n
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