One sheriff was practically held hostage in tight quarters while another fell prey to a makeup artist who applied enough eyeliner that the sheriff feared that she looked like a target of law enforcement rather than a member of it.
But neither Chester County Sheriff was complaining about their New York City experiences. Both happily participated in a plot by the Meredith Vieira Show to extend the magical odyssey of a 9-year-old West Chester boy, a journey that had begun with a painful geography lesson.
On Tuesday, Jan. 13, Chester County Sheriff Carolyn “Bunny” Welsh boarded a limo with Alex Collins and his mother, Leslie, which delivered them to a Times Square hotel to await a TV taping the following day. It was a trip that almost didn’t happen.
The boy made headlines in December after his mother helped him enter an online contest with a prize that seemed ideal for the son of a single mother with health problems: a day hunting and fishing with the Chester County Sheriff. What they didn’t realize at the time was that the offer came from the Chester County Sheriff in South Carolina, an error that Leslie Collins later dubbed “the best mistake of my life.”
Welsh knew South Carolina Sheriff Alex Underwood well, and after a phone call, both agreed that Alex Collins should get his wish, a dream that would be funded by personal donations. So on Dec. 29, Alex, flanked by police escorts, flew to South Carolina. There, he spent nearly three adventure-packed days with Underwood, known as “Big A” to avoid any confusion over their shared name.
By the time “Little A” returned to Philadelphia International Airport, where a welcoming entourage of law-enforcement and media awaited, he bubbled with enthusiasm over gaining friends for life in both sheriffs as well as lasting memories and mementoes from the trip. But he was not quite as excited about the paparazzi he attracted.
In consultation with Alex’s mother, Welsh said she turned down several interview requests. But when representatives from the Meredith Vieira Show called with interest in staging a surprise reunion for “Little A” with his hunting and fishing buddy, the moratorium had to be lifted.
The conspirators, who now included Underwood, hit a snag when Alex expressed no interest in being on TV, and the producers were insistent that the reunion had to be spontaneous. So a compromise materialized: Alex learned that the show was trying to get “Big A” to attend but couldn’t guarantee his presence. And if they didn’t succeed, Alex would get to speak with Underwood on a huge screen, akin to a giant Skype or Facetime opportunity.
The ruse worked. “It was really exciting,” Alex said, describing the moment when Underwood joined him on stage. Welsh said she had to reach for Kleenex, and Leslie Collins said she was also overcome with emotion. Members of the studio audience responded with a standing ovation.
The appreciative 4th-grader succeeded in captivating the show’s staff as well, generating another bonus: a gift card that will cover airfare for another trip to visit Underwood.
Welsh acknowledged being taken aback initially by the extent of her makeup. "It looked better from a distance," she concluded later. But she quickly forgot about appearances when the reunion occurred. “It was pretty emotional,” she said.
It was a reunion for her as well. She said she hadn’t seen Underwood since she mentored him at the National Sheriffs’ Institute in Colorado in September. She said she had tried to visit him before the show’s taping, but learned that he was off-limits.
“They had him staying in a different hotel,” Welsh said, adding that when the rest of them arrived at the studio, Underwood “was holed up in a room the size of a closet.”
Leslie Collins, who was sitting in the NBC audience, said she received many positive comments about the story from the people around her. After the taping, people who had watched the show even came up to them on the street.
For her, the highlights of the trip included witnessing her son’s elation and getting to meet Underwood herself. For Alex, reuniting with Underwood was the biggest thrill, she said. And a close second? M&M’s World, which was a block from the hotel.
“Talk about a kid in a candy store – a humongous one,” she said. “It was three stories. He had so much fun walking around it. Seeing the lights of Times Square at night was exciting, too.”
She said the entire experience has given her “new faith in the human race. We have met so many wonderful people – a lot of them.” She said offers to take Alex hunting and fishing have come in from multiple sources.
In addition to the wonderful outpouring of generosity, she appreciates the fact that her son’s interest in getting good grades and being respectful of others has been so dramatically reinforced.
She said she is a little worried that her son might become a phone burden to Welsh since he now texts her daily. “I told her [Welsh] to let me know if he gets to be a pain in the butt,” Leslie Collins said.
Not a chance of that, Welsh said. She said she loves hearing from Alex. "He's always very enthusiastic," she said. "I'll write that I'm excited about something, and he'll respond 'me too' - but with lots of exclamation points! It's very sweet."
The Meredith Vieira Show, which airs weekdays at 1 p.m. on WCAU, is tentatively scheduled to feature the reunion segment on Feb. 2.
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