Prince William County Assistant Chief Hadden Culp retires. Working to create a Virginia memorial for fallen firefighters & cops.

My friend Hadden Culp, who retired yesterday after 33 years as a firefighter in Prince William County, Virginia, was profiled by another friend, Emily Cyr of InsideNova.com. Hadden, who has done great work for the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation through the years, has a related mission in retirement. Here's an excerpt from Emily's article:

He says his primary responsibility in retirement will be as president of the Virginia Public Safety Foundation. The foundation supports surviving spouses and children of all public safety officers killed in the line of duty.

Because Virginia is one of only six states without a memorial honoring those who gave their lives, "the governor asked our foundation if we would raise the money for and build the memorial in Richmond," Culp said. To date, the foundation has about one-third of the needed $1.5 million.

Initially, planners thought there would be about 400 names inscribed on the wall, but as they asked the public for more information, they realized the number is closer to 1,000.

The memorial's dedication, another Culp legacy, is set for summer 2013.

Congratulations Hadden and much success with the Virginia Public Safety Foundation.