By Craig Ramey
The roar of motorcycle engines rippled across Craven Community College (Craven CC) as members of the Veteran Enforcers Motorcycle Association (VEMA) of New Bern rolled onto campus Tuesday, May 15. While it may be common to see motorcycles on campus for the college’s safety classes, the VEMA Chapter 252 visit was to present the Craven CC Foundation with a $2,500 check benefitting the Fallen Officer Memorial Scholarship.
The VEMA awards are made in honor and memory of fallen officers who served the Craven County community in uniform and with commitment and passion to ensure the public safety. VEMA began the scholarship four years ago to memorialize New Bern police officer Alexander Thalmann, who was shot and killed in the line of duty March 31, 2014.
“On the one-year anniversary of him dying we wanted to do something to help his family,” said Kevin Yates, VEMA 252 commander. “We had a ride to raise money and we had a bigger turnout than we ever imagined. We approached Alex’s mom and said, ‘we wanted to give this to you as a way to remember him’ but Alex’s mom asked us to try and use it for something else. That’s when we came up with the idea of doing a scholarship.”
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