One of the largest crowds ever made their way to Trooper Island Camp Saturday for the annual Appreciation Day outing, which included a picnic style meal as well as a dedication to the new dental clinic and a memoriam service to honor the members of the Kentucky State Police who have been killed in the line of duty.

In the photo above, KSP Commissioner Rick Sanders and Camp Director Jonathan Biven wait for the crowd to assemble in front of the Fallen Trooper Memorial on the north end of Trooper Island for the memorial service. At left Commissioner Sanders watches as the parents of Sgt. David R. Gibbs, Randy and Carolyn Gibbs, place a wreath at the Memorial during the service. Gibbs was one of the last KSP officers killed when his cruiser wrecked on a rain slickened road on August 7, 2015. His father, Randy Gibbs, is a retired KSP Trooper. Below, Biven reads the names of the KSP officers who have been killed in the line of duty as Commissioner Sanders looks on. Below right, one of the several transport trips of visitors to Trooper Island Saturday ride across the lake to the camp on the newly named barge, the Ms. Maida, which honors long-time Trooper Island Camp cook Maida Wallace. At bottom right, the name plate honoring Sgt. David R. Gibbs that has been placed on the “Blue Light Memorial” that sits on the west side of Trooper Island.

Trooper Island Camp is in Clinton County on Dale Hollow Lake and provides a free week-long camping experience to about 700 underpriviledged and at-risk children from Kentucky each summer.