TROOPERS' FAMILIES GET CARING ASSISTANCE

The day after Missouri State Highway Patrol Trooper Randy Sullivan died in a flaming crash chasing a speeder, a steady stream of friends and relatives called on Brenda Sullivan and her three sons who were suddenly without a father. But among the visitors to their Fredericktown, Mo., home on Feb. 18, 1996, were four strangers.

Doug Libla said he might not have known the Sullivans before, but he understood their needs after spending the prior 17 years visiting other wives of officers who suddenly died.

"You have to understand how committed a whole family is to public service, not just the trooper," said Libla, a charter member of the Missouri Association of State Troopers Emergency Relief Society.

The MASTERS was created in 1979 by 12 persons with a concern for the highway patrol, Libla said. Prior to its founding, 10 Missouri troopers had been killed on the job. The group wasn't formed in the wake of a tragedy, since the last trooper to die before MASTERS started was in 1970.

"It was born out of a concern for the highway patrol," Libla said. "There were no benefits for the patrol at all at that time."

The aim of the MASTERS is to provide immediate financial relief to families of troopers who die on duty. That concept mirrors the Backstoppers, a St. Louis group that has raised millions of dollars for police and firefighters' families since 1959.

The Guardians, a Cape Girdeau group formed with similar goals in June, is close to its goal of 100 members, said Charles Hutson, vice-president of the Guardians' board. If a Cape Girardeau County law enforcement officer or firefighter dies on duty, they plan to come in with financial assistance for families.

Paying the bills

As Libla and three others sat in Brenda Sullivan's living room five years ago, Sullivan said she initially refused their check for $3,000 to pay for immediate expenses associated with her husband's death. They gently convinced her she needed it.

"It took care of a whole month's expenses," Sullivan said.

Along with short-term help paying utility bills, MASTERS assists with funeral expenses, mortgage payments, credit and other debts.

"They asked for a list of all that we owed," Sullivan said. "They took care of our house and car payments immediately."

Another check for about $30,000 from the MASTERS paid off their mortgage, she said.

Through the end of June, more than $467,000 has been given to support highway patrol families, Libla said. This includes $254,000 for rent and mortgage payments and $142,500 for funeral expenses, current bills and other debts. The rest is for a scholarship fund.

MASTERS' board members meet shortly after an officer's funeral to decide on how much support can be given. The funds come from annual membership dues paid by 769 individuals. So far, members' dues, which are held in an interest-bearing account, have been enough to meet needs, Libla said.

In exchange for the $100 annual dues, members receive the highway patrol's monthly newsletter and a windshield decal with the MASTERS' logo. But the real goal of joining is to give, Libla said.

Pain relief

Sarah Froemsdorf of Cape Girardeau and her three daughters were the second family in the state to benefit from the MASTERS. Trooper James Froemsdorf was shot and killed in 1985 by a man who wiggled out of his handcuffs and grabbed the trooper's gun.

Libla came to see her two days after her husband's death, Froemsdorf said, and gave her a check for $2,000 for expenses and another $2,000 for the funeral.

"At that time, it was a lot of money," she said. "It relieved a lot of pressure and pain."

Credit card debts, the mortgage and about $10,000 in dental bills for the children were also paid by MASTERS, Froemsdorf said.

College scholarships of approximately $2,000 a semester for an officer's children are also available, with conditions that the student enroll in a Missouri state-funded school and maintain at least a "C" average.

Sullivan said she received scholarship paperwork from MASTERS this month for her son Justin, who is entering his senior year of high school. She is not quite sure what they'll do with it yet, but she knows if she calls MASTERS, she'll be helped.

Froemsdorf clearly recalls her mortgage checks from MASTERS. Each month for years, a man who owned a construction business in St. Louis would come to her home and hand deliver a check for about $400.

"It's hard to believe that total strangers can be that good to you," Froemsdorf said.

Want more?

For more information about MASTERS, contact Doug Libla at (573) 785-1478. To contact Cape Girardeau's Guardians, phone Bob Neff at 335-2600.