Another year, another victory for the Clarksville Police Department in the annual “Battle of the Badges” Blood Drive. The event took place Tuesday at the Clarksville Community Center. Unlike in previous years, however, the Clarksville Fire Department came very close to getting the win.

Each year, Clarksville Police and Clarksville Firefighters compete to see which department can contribute the most blood donations to the American Red Cross. Members of the community are also invited to donate and choose which team they would like to support. The Clarksville Police Department has won the event each of the last two years. Clarksville Police took home the bragging rights again this year with 29 blood donations. The Clarksville Fire Department fell just short with 23 donations. The American Red Cross was the real winner of this event. They say they received 50% more blood donations during the drive than they expected.

“The event was so popular that some folks did not have the chance to donate,” said Clarksville Police Chief Mark Palmer. “We will work with the American Red Cross to see if we can get more capacity next time.”

The Town of Clarksville and all of our emergency responders would like to thank those who took the time to donate. If were unable to make it to the blood drive but would still like to donate, simply visit https://www.redcross.org/give-blood.html.