The sharing of a Facebook post began a story that ended with Aragon Police Chief Brad Loyd getting to enjoy the smile of a youth who lives on the other side of North Georgia.

The connection between Loyd and a boy named Gavin Teems of Dawsonville began when the chief said a post was shared with him from Aragon City Council member Daniel Johnson about Gavin’s growing collection of patches from various police departments around the state.

“He likes police officers, and he likes collecting patches,” Loyd said. “I sent his mama a Facebook message and told her to send me their address and I that would go through see what I’ve got. I probably sent him 15 patches.”

So Loyd packed up the small collection of patches he’s kept over the years from various agencies around the area and the Georgia State Patrol and sent them along to Gavin to keep and enjoy. Those included new and old patches from the Aragon Police Department, the Floyd County Sheriff’s Office and even Paulding County and the Department of Corrections.

His mom Kayleigh Young sent Loyd the results: the picture above of the young boy holding up his new haul with a big smile on his face.

“There from Dawsonville, so they’re not even from around here. I tagged a couple of others guys from the county on this as well,” Loyd said. “It made me feel really good to get that picture.”

His hope is that with letting other officers around the area know about Gavin’s love for patches, Polk County’s men and women in blue will help increase the young man’s collection.