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Polk County sheriff’s deputies are now some of the rootinest, tootinest fashionistas west of the Kissimmee River, decked out in white cowboy hats specially created for the office.
“It started out with our (agriculture unit) guys, who spend an inordinate amount of time outside,” Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said. “When they got them, everybody wanted them.”
And now all 1,700 employees can have the longtime symbol of law and order if they want. It’s not the first time cowboy hats have been worn by sheriff’s deputies; Judd said when he first started at PCSO in 1972, some deputies wore them. They fell out of fashion when they simply didn’t look uniform at formal events.
Donor: Most of the hats are provided thanks to a donation of about $40,000 by Carla Hart, who owns a ranch in Polk County. Her funds paid for the first 1,000 hats, while Polk County Sheriff’s Charities paid for the rest.
Hart explained that she won a ride-along with the sheriff as part of a fundraiser for Peace River Center and was at his daily senior staff meeting one morning a few months ago when the topic of headwear came up.
“They needed a uniform hat to keep the sun off their ears and necks and the sheriff said he wanted it to be a cowboy hat,” Hart recalled, adding that she got energized and told the sheriff she wanted to pay for them.
“I’m so excited to be a part of this; I just love the sheriff so much,” Hart said. “I just wanted to help out.”
Honoring mother: Hart said she was doing it as a way to honor her mother, Barbara Owens Hart, who passed away in 2021. Her mother, who had been Publix founder George Jenkins’ personal assistant, often donated to the Sheriff’s Office. Judd spoke at her funeral.
And it also honors the sheriff’s father, who had a similar hat. When he passed away, Judd inherited and enjoyed wearing it.
Posts on the Sheriff’s Office Facebook page show pictures and a video of deputies donning the hats.
Judd’s assistant, Tina Ward, put the hat contract out for bid and the winner was Way Out West, a family-owned western wear store in Davenport and Auburndale.
“The hat’s custom for Grady,” said Susan Anders, a co-owner of Way Out West; the other co-owner is her husband, Walker Anders. “It’s the style, the color of the hat that he’s chosen.”
All in the details: Anders said the hat is their own custom-designed “Sheriff Grady Judd edition.” The hatband is leather and mimics deputies’ gunbelts. There is something called a tipsticker inside the hat that has Judd’s picture, and the sweatband has his signature.
“It’s a limited edition for him,” Anders said.
Judd said the photo inside the hat was part of the Anders’ design.
Available soon: It won’t be just for deputies for too much longer. Way Out West will be selling the hats to the general public soon. They are hoping to have a shipment arrive in time for Christmas, with $5 of every sale going to Polk County Sheriff’s Charities.
“George Strait has a hat and now there’s a Grady Judd hat,” the sheriff joked. “And it’s a great fundraiser for the charity.”
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Ain’t that the cutest thing.
In Judd we trust.