By: Rebecca Miller
At the very beginning of Stryker Heritage Day, early Saturday morning, August 17, 2019, walkers and runners started showing up in the parking lot of Jagger Cone company in Stryker, Ohio, to participate in a 5K Run/Walk in memory of the late Officer Mick Frisbie. Two hundred and fifty were pre-registered, but by the time the 5K began at 8:30 there were at least 325 people of all ages heading out for the First Annual Mick Frisbie Memorial Run. The buzzing of Williams Aerial drone could be heard as it covered the run from the sky.
Frisbie’s daughter, Allie, explained that she and her twin brother Austin have watched their mom walk in a number of area 5K’s over the years and they thought it would be a good way for people to come out and and show their respect for their dad and support for the community. Brandi Frisbie, who married Mick on June 13, 1998, is from Stryker and they have lived there and raised their family there.
It seemed an appropriate place to honor him, with part of the funds raised going to Stryker High School to start a Scholarship Fund for a student interested in going into Law Enforcement. Twins, Allie and Austin, graduated from SHS in 2017. The other part of the money raised will go to the Williams County Humane Society, as Officer Mick was the Canine handler for the Sheriff’s office for 12 years, and loved animals.
After the runners and walkers were all gathered, Sheriff Steve Towns backed his four wheeler up on the lawn in front of Jagger Cone and Stryker Mayor Joe Beck climbed up on the back to share a few words in memory of Frisbie. He spoke of the overwhelming show of support and commended Allie for her hard work and for pulling everyone along with her. “The proceeds from the race will go toward a Criminal Justice scholarship and the Humane Society,” Beck said, “Mick used to say ‘Why are you running when no one is chasing you?! But today we run in memory of him.’” Instead of a moment of silence he asked everyone to “put your hands together for him,” and the runners, walkers and all gathered in support clapped for around one minute.
Later in the day, the family and others gathered at the American Legion Hall as Mayor Joe Beck presented the Stryker Good Neighbor award to Mick’s family, naming him the Good Neighbor of the year. “Mick was a friend, a business owner, a council member and a devoted Stryker Panther in the Stryker Community,” Beck said. The Frisbie family posed with Mayor Beck for pictures but declined the opportunity to speak.
Frisbie died tragically on May 24, 2019, at just 50 years old. He had been active in law enforcement for 18 years, having started his service with the Stryker Police Department in 2000, working with them for a few months while they sponsored him through the Police Academy. In October 2001 he joined the Williams County Sheriff’s Department and was still active, as a Deputy Sheriff, up until the time of his death. From Frisbie’s obituary we learn that during his years of service with the Sheriff’s Department “he received many awards and commendations… including 2006 Owens Community College Outstanding Service award, 2015 Commendation from Senator Cliff Hite, 2018 Bryan VFW Post 2489’s Officer of the Year, and Sheriff’s Star in 2019.”
In other areas of his life, “Mick owned and operated Clear View Window Cleaning for 30 years, was a member of the Fraternal Order of Police Captain Custar Lodge 181, Montpelier Moose Lodge 312 and was a member of Riverside Greens Golf Course in Stryker.”
His wife shared that they are planning to have a Golf Outing at Riverside Golf Course, in his memory, in the Fall of 2020 as he loved to golf and had done so for around 35 years. The family plans to continue the 5K Mick Memorial Run as well and are blessed by how many had signed up to run in the first one. Being held just a few short months after his passing, it was a sad but loving moment in the lives of those who knew Deputy Sheriff Mick Frisbie.
Rebecca can be reached at publisher@thevillagereporter.com