Myrtle Beach Police hope a new community ambassadors program will mean a warmer welcome for visitors over Memorial Day Weekend.
The department developed the group as part of its Memorial Day Weekend Action Plan, in response to increased violence over the 2014 holiday. Lt. Joey Crosby says the team is a mirror of the city’s former “Friendship Team,” used as a buffer between residents and visitors during previous motorcycle rallies.
Nearly 50 people gathered at the Sheraton Myrtle Beach Convention Center Hotel Wednesday evening to learn about the new initiative. Several attendees were previous members of the city’s Friendship Team.
“I think this is a great place to live and raise a family,” Karyl Brown said. “I wanted to make sure the message is conveyed by average people.”
That message is a fair, firm and friendly one the city not only wants to enforce during Memorial Day Weekend, but during other large events as well – including downtown festivals and athletic events like the Myrtle Beach Marathon.
“I thought it would make a difference. It would be normal people saying, ‘We’re glad that you’re here. We don’t hate you. We don’t want you to come.’ and that’s something I believe.”
According to Crosby, community ambassadors would be responsible for helping visitors navigate the Myrtle Beach area, safety education, alerting departments of safety issues and promoting community unity.
“By having those ambassadors out at those events giving out that information, we’re letting everyone know about traffic patterns, hours of events or maybe some of the common questions on where they may go to eat or directions to their hotel,” he explained.
The Myrtle Beach Police Department plans to hold a training session for those interested in becoming community ambassadors next month. Crosby expects the training to take two to three hours to complete.
If you are interested in becoming a community ambassador, contact Lt. Crosby at (843) 918-1366.
