Nearly 40 years later, Jim Higdon still remembers the Santa Train visiting his house.
“I heard the sirens coming down Lazard Street in East Ridge, where we lived,” Higdon, a member of the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office, recalled Tuesday. “I had four siblings and my mom and dad didn’t have much money back then. It saved our Christmas.”
Come Friday night at 6:30 at the Chattanooga Convention Center, the 47-year-old Higdon will be on the “Guns” side of the 11th annual Battle of the Badges charity boxing competition – also affectionately known as “Guns and Hoses” – which pits local law-enforcement officers such as Higdon against local firefighters and first responders.
By the time this year’s event wraps up, it will have raised over $500,000 over those 11 years to help save a lot of Christmases for needy kids throughout our community.
“Part of it is the competition,” Higdon said Tuesday. “But it’s really not about us, it’s about the kids. There are so many folks out there, kids and adults, so much less fortunate than us, and this is one way we can help them.”