The Valley’s First Responder is making a name for himself, and more importantly, making his community a better place.
The locals call it the real Hollywood, and it’s in Jackson County, Alabama. This month’s Valley’s First Responder is Hollywood Police Chief Hepler
Hepler spent four years in the Marine Corps and nearly ten years in law enforcement. He’s now an internet sensation with a goal of changing lives.
This lip-syncing, K-9 handling police chief is making waves on the internet. The video of him lip-syncing to Mercy Me’s “I Can Only Imagine” as part of a nationwide challenge has been viewed millions of times.
But that lip sync video is generating more than social media stardom. Chief Hepler won $5,000 for a K-9 charity and got a big-time donation for his department.
Hepler tells us, “There’s a lady in New York, when she watched the video, she says she was moved in such a way that her and her boss made a $12,000 donation to our K-9 unit in Hollywood.”
Beyond bringing in money for his department, Chief Hepler is also making a big difference in his community. Hollywood Court Clerk and Magistrate Susanne Holland says, “He’s a good leader. He’s brought a lot of good vibes to the police department here with the community and the schools especially. He truly wants what’s best for the town.”
Heplet is proud of his department’s K-9 program. He says, “It was a lot of hard work and a lot of research and a lot of applying for grants because we are a small town. So, we did various fundraisers and we did a lot of outreaches. And, year by year, we get better and better and better.”
Because of his commitment to the “real Hollywood”, Chief Jason Hepler is the Valley’s First Responder for September.
Watch Chief Hepler’s award-winning lip-sync video.