A family event
The moment of pull was only an hour away for Essex County
Sheriff’s Officers Local 183 when Team Captain Jayson Rodriguez
took a headcount of his teammates. Throughout the morning,
he had received texts from members explaining that due to work
and personal reasons, they would be unable to make the Special
Olympics New Jersey (SONJ) Plane Pull. Local 183’s team of 20
suddenly had shrunk to 11, and the clock was ticking toward “go”
time.
“Myself and another Local 183 board member got together to
discuss it,” Rodriguez explained. “We knew we had do to some-
thing and there were plenty of family members that showed up
to support.”
Acting on the fly, officers from the team asked their children,
siblings and relatives if they would step up to the rope and help
the team. The family members didn’t hesitate.
“We didn’t have to ask twice,” Rodriguez confirmed. “They
were just as excited as we were about doing it.”
When Local 183 was called onto the runway, the blue broth-
ers and sisters proudly approached the rope with some of their
friends and family and some of their biggest supporters: includ-
ing Rodriguez’s 11-year-old daughter, Alyssa; Officer Vanessa Ar-
royave’s sister, Jackie; and Officer Filberto Figueroa’s 9-year-old
niece, Ayanna.
The family bonds were apparent as the team grew to 15 mem-
bers and showed they had enough pull.
“It’s a gorgeous event,” Rodriguez noted. “Just to see the excite-
ment on the athletes’ faces and know that they have the support
of everyone here is an amazing feeling.” d
Pull throttle
It’s all in the legs. That’s one of a few observations Monmouth
County Corrections Local 240 Plane Pull first-timer Greg Con-
nor noted after dropping the rope. And as he walked off the
tarmac with 15 of his Local 240 teammates, he was surprised
to feel his m