Trooper Bear made his debut in Orlando at the recent Community Care Fest held at the Pirates Dinner Show and sponsored by AAA. The event, which drew a crowd of over 2,000 people, offered a wonderful opportunity for FHP to show off its new mascot, a 9 foot tall WalkAround inflatable, wearable, and huggable bear in a trooper uniform. Getting a Trooper Bear mascot for the Patrol was a year-long collaborative effort between FHP's Public Affairs Office and the staff at Signs & Shapes, and made possible through a generous sponsorship from Werner Enterprises.

Trooper Bear with Trooper Wanda Diaz.

Hundreds of children enjoyed meeting Trooper Bear, along with his companions Trooper Wanda Diaz, Troop D Occupant Protection Specialist, and Trooper Tim Wood (Where is Trooper Wood? We won’t tell.) Safety experts from a number of local agencies participated in the popular event, including the Orange County Sheriffs Office, Orange County Fire Rescue, Safe Kids, the Community Traffic Safety Team, and AAA. Special visitors to the event included a collection of colorful pirates from the dinner show, workers from Sea World, some local vendors, and, of course, the School Safety Patrols who lined up to get their pictures taken with our own Trooper Bear.