FLEMING ISLAND — When Zachary Cox was an Explorer with the Clay County Sheriff’s Office and a junior in high school, he saw the movie Radio, which affected him.

“It doesn't have anything to do with Special Olympics, but the movie Radio is about a local gentleman in a small town, and he comes out and hangs out with the football team,” he said. “He ends up becoming a part of the team. They accept him. He has an intellectual disability, and it kind of shows the inclusion of someone with an intellectual disability to a high school football team and accepting that person for who they are.

“It’s a great representation of where my heart is with all of this.”

Now a lieutenant with the sheriff’s office, Cox said the movie wasn’t why he became the Clay County Special Olympics coordinator.

The first of two Tip-A-Cop events that starts on Wednesday, April 16, at Texas Roadhouse, 550 Blanding Blvd., Orange Park, is why Cox is so deeply involved in a group of athletes “whose sole mission is to have fun.”

Law enforcement officials will work for tips from 3 to 8 p.m. at the steakhouse. They will be shadowed by Special Olympic athletes and serve water, tea, soft drinks, and rolls while helping servers. They will also explain the Special Olympics' mission and promote the upcoming Law Enforcement Torch Run scheduled for Friday, May 2.

Money earned by sheriff deputies and officers from the Orange Park Police Department will be separate from tips earned by servers. A year ago, the community responded with a record $13,492 in donations. Added to money given at the Torch Run and a Tip-A-Cop at LongHorn Steakhouse in the fall, Clay County finished fourth in the state with a resounding $31,261.

Cox has become so involved with Tip-A-Cop and the Law Enforcement Torch Run that he enlisted help from CCSO Deputy Van Quang. Both will also receive assistance from Marsha Skiles, the EMACS coordinator for the Student Support Services Project within the Florida Department of Education.

“It's heartwarming, and it's good it's not really a problem,” Cox said. “It’s a good problem to have. He came out and helped me with Tip-A-Cop last year, and I fell in love with it. He gets it. He gets the mission. He gets the vision.”

The Torch Run on May 2 will start from the Hibernia Publix at 9 a.m. Still, all participants must park at the Plantation Sports Complex at 321 Old Hard Road on Fleming Island before 8:30 a.m. to purchase a Torch Run T-shirt (cotton shirts are $20; Dry-Fit shirts are $25) and sign a participation waiver. Then, they will be shuttled to Publix for the run, including bicycles and walkers.

The route will include leaving Publix, crossing U.S. Highway 17, going north on the Black Creek bike trail and turning west on Village Square Parkway. The route then will move south on Town Center Boulevard and make a right on Old Hard Road before turning into the Plantation Sports Complex, where supporters and a group of food vendors will greet them.

Anyone who parks at Publix won’t have a ride from Plantation Sports Complex back to the grocery store after the run, Cox said.

“The shirts will be available on a first-come, first-served basis, so if we run out of shirts, we'll still let people participate,” Cox said. “We won't turn people away if they don't have a shirt. But we would, you know, kindly ask for at least a $20 donation to Clay County Special Olympics as if they were to purchase a shirt. If they do that, we will be able to either mail them a shirt or deliver it. We would just have to get some more from the state.”

All money earned this year will support the Clay County team’s trip to the Florida State Games at Walt Disney World on May 16.

Cox said Special Olympics athletes aren’t just children.

“We have athletes in their 30s and 40s,” he said. “We have multiple Clay County athletes, special athletes that participate in various sporting events like boccia, soccer, volleyball and basketball. There's a ton of them. These funds help pay for gas, pay for uniforms, and pay for the hotel stay. It takes all the financial burden off the special athletes and their families to let the athletes go and play their perspective sports, just like anybody else would, any other adult or child would.”