MIDDLESBORO — Thursday was an unusual, yet enjoyable day for longtime Middlesboro Police Officer Petie Gilbert. In Gilbert’s line of work, people don’t normally ask him to find a serving spoon for the mashed potatoes or to locate a CD player for last minute Christmas music.

Usually, when Officer Gilbert is on duty, he is patrolling the streets of Middlesboro or answering a radio call, all in an effort to protect and to serve the people of Middlesboro. On Thursday, a lot of his hard work came full circle in the ‘Cops for Kids’ event at the Middlesboro Community Center.

As the 47 children were arriving to the center for lunch and a special visit from Santa Claus, Gilbert busied himself: He coordinated other officers to set up the buffet line, searched for music for his young guests and confirmed that Santa would arrive right on time.

Gilbert and other Middlesboro Police Officers work hard to make ‘Cops for Kids’ a thrilling success, yet Gilbert gives credit to others, “If it weren’t for our local business people, this wouldn’t be such a success,” Gilbert said. And the true focus is on the children.

This year, kids got to choose their lunch from area restaurants, including: Kentucky Fried Chicken, Walmart Deli, Taco Bell, McDonalds, Pizza Hut, Lee’s Famous Recipe, Food City and others. Local businesses donate money, services and goods to make ‘Cops for Kids’ possible. While the officers shop for toys for the children, Goody’s employees shop for the clothes for each child.

When Santa arrived, he brought with him a toy for every child, a couple of outfits for each child and jackets and coats.

“I did this a long time ago, when I first started as a police officer,” Gilbert said. “We quit doing it for a while, but then Chief Sharpe wanted to start it up again. I enjoy it every year.”

Brandy Calvert is a Staff Writer for the Daily News. Contact her via e-mail at bmurray@middlesborodailynews.com.