AMARILLO, TEXAS -- Every day, police officers in Texas put their lives on the line for our safety. To give back, Amarillo came together to help fix a memorial for these local heroes in Austin.
Texas Peace Officers' Memorial Foundation hosted a lunch and silent auction, with all proceeds going towards the repair.
Similar fund-raisers are taking place state wide, but it's the Panhandle Spirit that separates the luncheon.
"The Panhandle is known for their hospitality, for their friendliness, for their willingness to go the extra mile to help other people," Sondra Beigle of Texas Peace Officers' said. "We just knew that if we did something like this, a lot of people would come."
Attendees paid a seven dollar donation at the door, and auction items included everything from wood carvings, to footballs signed by NFL players.
In all it will take around $300,000 to fix the memorial, with all of today's funds going to Austin for the repairs.
The memorial honors those who have been killed in the line of duty. In Texas, some of those officers can receive a Star of Texas award:
Gov. Rick Perry honored fallen peace officers for the 2012 Star of Texas recipients are as follows:
Jaime De Luna Padron, Austin Police Department
Karl McDonough, El Paso Police Department
Javier Arana Jr., Texas Department of Public Safety
Kevin Lee Aigner, Travis County Precinct #2 Constables Office
"Over the past year, Texas has seen its share of disasters, and, once again, we were able to depend upon our best and brightest to come to our defense," Gov. Perry said. "Every day, they are the ones ensuring a safe return home and that we make it to birthdays, weddings and graduations. The people we honor today were a part of a higher calling and helped make Texas a safer, stronger and better place to live."
