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The boy's father is only occasionally involved in his life. His young, single mother is raising him. He has moved around, attended eight different elementary schools. The man walking up is exactly what the boy needs -- a role model, a man to spend time with. The man is Greg Dawson, a Wichita police officer in his 20s, recently divorced. His life feels empty. He needs the friendship of the boy.

For three years, the boy rides with the young officer on patrol. They go camping, watch television, hang out. But then the officer has to move to the Chicago area. Over the years, the two call or write each other.

Then one day about five years ago, Speer, a police lieutenant with his own family, has something important to say to Dawson. It won't wait.

The two men -- together this week for the first time in about 25 years -- shared their story Tuesday at a Big Brothers Big Sisters of Sedgwick County gathering at the Hyatt Regency Wichita. It was part of the group's annual effort to raise money and gain volunteers, so more men and women will serve as mentors for boys and girls.

More than 1,500 children in Sedgwick County are on a waiting list for a Big Brother or Big Sister. Three-fourths of those waiting are boys.
"We are in desperate need of male volunteers," said the group's spokeswoman, Cara Kliewer. Speer was on the list for a while in the mid-1970s, but the waiting list was much shorter back then. Speer felt compelled to call Dawson that day about five years ago because of his grandmother's death. After she died, Speer realized he had failed to fully tell her how much she meant to him.

He wouldn't make that mistake with Dawson. Speer told Dawson how he was one of the most important people in his life, someone who helped him at a pivotal age.
"I was stunned," Dawson said, "because I didn't realize I had that kind of impact. "Nobody's ever told that to me before."

As he finished speaking to the hundreds of people at the gathering, Dawson said, pausing between every word, his voice cracking with emotion: "Some day 30 years from now, you're going to get a call, and it will be without question one of the best days of your life." Dawson now has three children. At 55, he is a sales manager for a polymer company and is based in the Chicago area. He returned to Wichita to meet with Speer and provide the testimonial for Big Brothers Big Sisters.

Speer stressed that his mother did a "phenomenal job with the situation she was presented with." Still, he had only sporadic contact with his father. There was a void, which became very awkward one day when he was in the third grade. The teacher asked each student about his father's work. Speer didn't know what his father did, but he heard another boy say his dad was a police officer. He felt ashamed, so he lied. He said his father was a police officer, too.
As an adult, Speer realized he shouldn't have felt ashamed. "I didn't do anything wrong."

Dawson remembers Speer as a shy kid. He had long blond hair and wore wire-rim glasses. He was inquisitive, soaking up everything the young officer said. The magic of their reunion, they say, is that even all these years later, when they sat down together the past two days, they never felt awkward. The talk just flowed between them.
Dawson is still taller than Speer. He no longer has a mustache or the 1970s sideburns. The Dingo boots are gone. But when the two posed for a picture at the Hyatt, Dawson put his arm around his Little Brother, and Speer's face softened.

The Police Department recently promoted Speer to captain. He made a name for himself as head of the gang and felony assault unit and now commands the Patrol South bureau. Police Chief Norman Williams says Speer is "one of the up-and- coming leaders within the organization." As Speer and Dawson walked from the hotel Tuesday, Dawson put his arm around Speer one more time. "I'm proud of you, John.

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