During the month of September, Frankfort Police officer Rob Hession takes on a different persona to champion a cause he has a deep passion for — Kilted to Kick Cancer.
Hession joined the organization last year after losing his mother to cancer.
“She had a couple of other ailments as well, but she was so weak from those that they couldn’t remove the cancer from her,” said Hession. “I got to see first hand with my dad helping him take care of her how the ravages of cancer are on someone’s body. A friend of mine whose being doing this for a long time said, ‘Hey, you’ve got to do it.’ I said OK and I’m so happy I did.”
So when Hession is off duty this month, he dons the kilt which makes become an instant awareness billboard for the organization.
“People will walk up and talk to me and immediately ask me why I’m wearing the kilt,” said Hession. “So, I start talking to them. I’m amazed at some of the questions that people do ask mainly about what I’m wearing underneath my kilt is the main question. That starts the conversation of why I’m doing it. Then, we move on to getting checked for cancer.”
Hession added people have been receptive to him when they see him wearing a kilt in public.
Hession said Kilted to Kick Cancer is a fairly new non-profit organization with its grassroots aiming to bring awareness to prostate cancer. September is Prostate Cancer Awareness Month.
“We don the kilt for an entire month,” said Hession. “This is a national charity. There’s a lot of police, fire and EMS that do this. When we’re not on duty, we put this on and keep it on for the entire month.”
Hession was asked what the goal for the organization is.
“It’s an immediate attention getter,” he said. “The minute you walk into a room everybody is looking at you. It’s also an immediate conversation starter. What you do is start talking about cancer awareness.. You become a walking billboard for the organization and for bringing awareness out there for people. The more people are aware means hopefully more people get checked.”