Board Member · 5 years on the board

The Birky Challenge

A charity ride in memory of Officer Craig Birkholz, Badge #67.

About the organization

The Birky Challenge was an annual charity bicycle ride in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, honoring fallen Fond du Lac Police Officer Craig Birkholz, Badge #67, and all fallen Wisconsin officers.

Proceeds supported the Officer Craig Birkholz Scholarship for students pursuing criminal justice or police science degrees, along with other local charitable causes.

The ride typically offered three scenic routes of 67, 40, and 20 miles, leaving from Fond du Lac toward the Kettle Moraine State Forest.

The bicycle ride has been retired, but the Officer Craig Birkholz Scholarship still supports aspiring officers to this day.

Craig Birkholz drove toward an active gunfight to help officers who were already under fire. A community that remembers that, and invests in the next generation of officers because of it, is a community worth riding for.

My role

Five years of board service supporting the ride and the scholarship.
Maintained the organization's website at the time and managed the Facebook page.
Planned and marked the ride routes each year.
Fundraising and check presentations for the recipient of the Officer Craig Birkholz Scholarship.

In Memory Of

Officer Craig A. Birkholz, Badge #67

May 11, 2009 to March 20, 2011

Officer Craig A. Birkholz was a 28 year old Fond du Lac Police Officer and United States Army veteran who was killed in the line of duty on March 20, 2011.

Early that morning, officers responded to a Fond du Lac home after a woman reported a sexual assault and said her young daughter might still be inside. Officers entered the home and were ambushed by the suspect, James Cruckson, who opened fire with a rifle. Officer Ryan Williams was seriously wounded.

Birkholz immediately responded to assist his fellow officers, knowing officers were already under fire. As he arrived and moved toward the scene, Cruckson fired from the second floor and struck him twice. He was fatally wounded. Cruckson continued firing at officers, ultimately firing approximately 48 rounds before taking his own life. A police K-9 was also wounded.

The most important part of Craig Birkholz's story is that he was not simply caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. He knowingly drove toward an active gunfight to help fellow officers who were under attack. The Fond du Lac Police Department continues to honor him as one of its fallen officers.