Acting Superintendent Joe Jaramozovic was recently reunited with Townsville local, Taylor Byrnes after the 2018 Gold Coast Marathon but, this is not where their story first began, Queensland Police say.
In 1997, Acting Superintendent Jaramozovic, then a Constable with the Gold Coast Crime Unit, participated in the annual Crop-a-Cop fundraising event for cancer. Pictured below, he had the pleasure of having his head shaved by a 5-year-old boy by the name of Taylor Byrnes, who had a brain tumour removed the previous year.
This was an interaction that Taylor, and his family, would not forget for years to come, with Taylor’s grandmother hanging onto the Gold Coast Bulletin news clipping for over 20 years.
In 2018, Taylor, an avid fitness enthusiast, set out to conquer the Gold Coast Marathon, a gruelling 42km race around the stunning Gold Coast. It was at this time that Taylor’s grandmother pulled out the old Gold Coast Bulletin article and suggested that Taylor reach out to Joe whilst he was on the Gold Coast.
Taylor took up his grandmothers suggestion and reached out to Joe with a copy of the Gold Coast Bulletin article from 1997. Joe and Taylor arranged to meet up for lunch where they took the original photo and have been able to ‘recreate’ the initial image.
Taylor and Joe reunited at the cafe where the original image was taken, after the Gold Coast Marathon 2018
Acting Superintendent Jaramozovic said that it was great catching up with Taylor and knowing that fundraising done in the past was able to help someone.
"A lot of what we do as Police means that unfortunately we don’t often get to see the outcomes so this meeting was a great reminder of the value in what we do and the role we play as police officers in the community" he said.
Events such as Crop-a-Cop (now named Bluey Day) are a great opportunity to meet with your local police officers as well as raise some much needed funds for charity. Bluey Day is held annually in August and is a great way to connect with the community and raise funds for charity.
