Many who attended Monday’s meeting of the Athens City Council knew a special award was being handed out that night. The Tennessee Valley Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution was set to honor Athens Police Sgt. Katrina Flanagan with a Hero Award for her work turning donations into gift baskets for elderly residents at local nursing homes.

“For this outstanding contribution to the community and for the exemplary effort to build police/community relationships, the Sons of the American Revolution would like to honor her with a law enforcement commendation as part of our chapter 2020 Heroes program,” said Benny Hannah, vice president of the TVCSAR.

Among those who did not know anything about the award was Flanagan herself, who had been successfully kept out of the loop until Hannah said an “Athens police officer” was being commended. Police Chief Floyd Johnson managed to have Flanagan attend the meeting for a fictional reason so she would be surprised while receiving the honor.

“(This) tells me my detective skills have gone downhill since I came out of investigations,” Flanagan, a 15-year veteran of APD, said. “Boss-man really pulled the wool over my eyes.”

According to Hannah, Flanagan began a program called “Gifts for the Elderly” in 2018.

“It was an idea among several people,” Flanagan said. “I just kind of expanded on it. People were giving me small gifts, so I thought I could come up with something. So I contacted some nursing homes, and I asked what do they (residents) need? I was told something as simple as a hairbrush, fuzzy socks or lotion. Just small things.”

She wanted to pass out items that would be practical and receive use every day. So, she began making gift baskets containing around 10 items each and costing $15. Flanagan said baskets usually contain things like playing cards, fuzzy socks, lotion and hairbrushes.

In the first year, Flanagan and other volunteers were able to raise enough funds to donate 125 gift baskets to seniors in nursing homes. Last year that number was 325. Although there are only 275 gift baskets going out this year, Flanagan still considers that a tremendous positive given the COVID-19 pandemic.

“People decided to take money out of their own wallets during a pandemic while thinking about someone other than themselves,” she said. “I know $15 doesn’t sound like a lot, but this time of year, to give someone a donation is a big deal to me.”