About Beat the Heat Inc
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The original 'BEAT THE HEAT' program was started by Sgt. Don Robertson
of the Jacksonville, Florida Sheriff's Department in 1984. In 10 short
years the program grew to over 25 cars and the "Drag Cops" participated
in over 50 events contacting almost 100,000 young people. By 1995, the
program had expanded beyond the borders of the State of Texas with over
35 officers and cars participating representing 30 Police Agencies in
Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana. The 1995 Schedule of Events grew to over
100 different events around the country by the time the year was over.
The Goals of Beat the Heat are to:
- Educate young drivers about the dangers of involvement with drugs and alcohol while driving.
- It is an extension of the Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) program and other youth educational programs.
- It is designed to create a stronger bond between the community and law enforcement and encourage those who want to race to do so legally, on a track, not on the street.
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The program continued to grow and in 1996 over 50 members representing
42 agencies in 8 states were involved. The 1996 'Beat the Heat' schedule
included over 150 events with less than 10% of the events being races.
The rest were community events and participation in education programs.
In 1997, the program expanded across the USA. The governing body now
provides support, guidance and information to other officers who desire
to begin programs of their own. In 1999 'Beat the Heat, Inc' associated
itself with the National Street Car Association (NSCA) whose principles
were closely aligned with the 'Beat the Heat' program. The NSCA provided
the venue for street racers to get off the street and onto the track to
race their cars.
In 2000 the members of Beat the Heat, Inc. continued to work with many
thousands of young people all over the United States and Canada. They
went to more schools, did more displays and contacted over 1,304,000
kids.
All funds for their program come from donations from sponsors and
individual donors who desire to see the goals of the program met. ALL
participants are volunteers and over 98% of all funding goes directly to
operate the program.
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