There’s another side to protecting and serving the Austin community.

Citizens see Austin Police Department officers in their blue uniforms on patrol. The officers’ black and white cars cruise city streets 24/7, 365 days a year.

The officers perform their front-line public safety duties well.

And when they’re off-duty, the officers continue to serve the community and greater Mower County.

They do that through the Austin Police Officers Association.

The APOA’s generosity is enhancing lives and strengthening communities throughout Mower County.

“People don’t realize how much we support post-prom parties and even post-graduation events in the spring, but it’s one of the things we do that is very important to all of us,” said John Mueller, APOA spokesman.

The men and women of the association provide their wide-ranging community services with funding from a highly popular country music show each October and in memory of a teenager who wanted to be a police officer, but had his dream dashed by cancer.

Austin Police Department Lt. Mueller is the association’s president. Some say he’s the sole reason there is an APOA after rescuing the concept from oblivion.

“For 17 years, the Mower County Deputy Sheriffs Association held an event in Austin called ‘The Country Music Spectacular’ as a fundraiser,” Mueller recalled. “The group then donated that money to various charitable causes.

“During that time, the Austin Police Retirement Association had existed for many years, but was pretty much dormant since about 1987 when the Public Employees Retirement Association of Minnesota began to incorporate individual associations from around the state,” Mueller said.

Austin police officers were still contributing to the Austin Police Retirement Association, but there was no longer activity within the group.

“I was familiar with ‘The Country Music Spectacular’ from my three years as a deputy sheriff in Fillmore County, where the same event was held as a fundraiser for the deputies’ association there,” Mueller said. “The show was promoted by Jerry and Arlene Petty of Pettycoats Promotion, Inc. They did these fundraisers for several law enforcement associations and federations in Minnesota as well as in Michigan.”

When the Mower County Deputies Association decided to stop sponsoring the show, Mueller asked members of the Austin Police Retirement Association if they would be interested in sponsoring it as a fundraiser.

The officers said “Yes” and the annual country music fundraiser continued and a new “old” organization made its debut: the APOA.

“The idea breathed new life into what had become a dormant organization that originally had the purpose of benefiting retiring police officers and turned it into organization that benefits the public instead,” Mueller said.

The officers continued contributing weekly to the association. When their dues were added to money raised at the country music show and the group was able to make contributions to others in the community.

The first Austin Police Officers Association “Country Music Spectacular” was held Oct. 15, 1998.

The show has been held the third weekend of October every year since.

The APOA used proceeds from the show to help causes such as youth sports, school groups, and civic organizations.

Its generosity extends throughout Mower County today; especially during the prom and graduation season.

Teen touches officers’ hearts

“In about 1998, then Austin police officer Dave Schafer befriended a young man named Joe DePaul,” Mueller recalled. “At the age of 13, Joe was diagnosed with leukemia.”

The diagnosis came as a blow to the officers who knew the teenager and his ambitions to wear a badge.

“Joe was extremely excited about law enforcement and he dreamed of the day he would wear the uniform and the badge of a police officer,” Mueller said. “It was that dream and Dave’s friendship that helped Joe endure his radiation and chemotherapy treatments.”

The teenager joined the Austin Police Explorers, a branch of the Boy Scouts, where he attended meetings and received training similar to that of a police officer. “He learned about traffic laws and criminal laws; about arresting bad guys and helping those in need,” Mueller said, describing the “protect and serve” credo of all law enforcement officers.

“Joe did some ride along and spent as much time as he could with police officers,” Mueller said, growing more animated as he described the teenager’s zest for public safety. “Joe was so proud to wear his Police Explorer uniform that he even wore it for his class picture.”

The story does not have a happy ending.

On June 12, 2000, just one month before his 16th birthday, Joe DePaul died.

However, the tragedy produced an idea that helps keep the teenager’s memory alive.

The members of the APOA decided to dedicate funds form the country music show to what would be known as the “Joseph DePaul Law Enforcement Scholarship.”

Starting in 2000, the group has awarded two $1,000 scholarships to law enforcement students at Austin’s Riverland Community College each year.

Thanks to fundraising by Joe’s mother, JoEllyn DePaul, there is a third scholarship awarded.

The applicants submit an essay about why they chose to go into law enforcement, what their goals are, and what they are doing to achieve those goals. Winners are selected by a review panel.

Since 2000, the APOA has awarded more than $16,000 in scholarships. Several of those recipients have gone on to become full time police officers and a few have even been hired by the Austin Police Department.

But the APOA’s generosity doesn’t end there.

In addition to the Joseph DePaul Scholarships, the APOA has fulfilled fund requests for many youth and civic groups throughout Mower County.

“The APOA has made contributions to post prom and post graduation events in Austin, Lyle and Southland,” Mueller said. “The group has supported youth football, youth baseball, youth gymnastics and children’s performing arts.”

The APOA has also contributed to Special Olympics, Lyle Area Cancer Auction, and is a sponsor of Daycare Day at the Mower County Fair, according to Mueller.

“We have also provided funding for middle school kids to go to the Eagle Bluff Learning Center to learn about the environment as well as life skills,” Mueller added.

Members of the Grand Meadow and LeRoy FCCLA (Family, Career, and Community Leaders of America) groups have been benefited from the APOA country music show by receiving support to attend their national events.

The APOA has built stronger communities everywhere one young citizen at a time.

As spring approaches and graduation plans are made by high school seniors, the APOA is sure to get requests for scholarship and other assistance.

“When we receive a written request for a contribution, it is put to a vote by the membership,” Mueller explained. “The requests need to include an amount and how the money will be used. We generally stick to local causes with a focus on youth and civic groups and events and we are sometimes able to help those with special needs or projects.”

Money isn’t the only way the APOA offers help in the community, according to Mueller.

Music, food help Army

“Last fall the Salvation Army Austin Corps made a plea for help to restock their depleted food shelves,” Mueller said. “The APOA answered the call.”

“I contacted Todd Hepler, the manager of Hy-Vee in Austin, and asked if Hy-Vee would match the weight of food collected at the door of the country music show,” the lieutenant said. “He agreed to match it up to 500 pounds.”

The food drive at the 2007 country music show was a big success. “Thanks to the generosity of those attending the country music show, we collected over 400 pounds of food at the door,” he said. “Hy-Vee added a full 500 pounds to the collection. That put nearly a half-ton of food on the shelves.”

The challenge for the APOA is to continue its well-known stream of good deeds, according to Mueller. That means it must ensure there is a revenue stream to do the many good works the police officers support.

In addition to weekly contributions from the officers, the group derives funds through ticket sales for the annual country music show each October and from area businesses that buy advertising in the book that is distributed at the country music show.

That means the APOA’s members have to become “surrogate” salesmen and promoters, too.

“Tickets and advertising for the book are sold throughout all of Mower County by the promoter who calls homes and businesses on the phone,” Mueller said of a very simple formula for fundraising success. “The proceeds from the show are dispersed to primarily youth and civic organizations throughout all of Mower County.”

Thus, a call to purchase tickets or advertising may be one solicitation not to go ignored.

“Many of those who attend the country music show have been supporting the show and the police officers association since we started,” he said of the loyalty shown by fans before launching into a little self-indulgent “boasting.”

“The show has been held in Austin for 27 consecutive years and for each of the last 10 years, people have walked out of the show saying ‘This is the best show yet!’ No matter who the entertainers are, people really enjoy the show,” Mueller said.

Austin Chief of Police Paul Philipp said Mueller and Mueller alone is the reason for the annual country music show’s success and that of the APOA.

“John is the driving force in making the country music show a success,” Philipp said. “The annual country music show wouldn’t succeed without his efforts.”

According to Philipp, the public doesn’t see the work Mueller and his family puts into the annual fundraiser. “The night of the show John is everywhere and his wife (Dawn) and their four boys help, too,” he said. “They all make a huge contribution to the success of the show and, in turn, the success of the Austin Police Officers Association.”

It’s early yet, but sometime this spring, the latest round of telephone calls will be made for the 2008 show.

This year’s Country Music Spectacular is set for Saturday, Oct. 18, at Knowlton Auditorium in Austin High School. The entertainer will be Bryan White, who has numerous nominations and awards for his music.

Phone calls will be made to homes and businesses in the spring and summer.

Mueller, who is a veritable one-man marketing and promotion huckster, also said, “If you don’t get called and want to support the association, you can call John Mueller at the Law Enforcement Center at 437-9400.”

The unabashed self-promotion aside, Mueller is grateful, too.

“We appreciate the support we have received over the years and the people seem to appreciate the fact that their ticket and advertising money is used to support local causes.”

Then he had more to say.

“We are happy with the attendance at the show, but there is always room for more people,” he said with a straight face.

When you’re promoting the good works of police officers, every opportunity is used by Mueller.