The city of Suffolk placed first out of 294 entries in its category for the National Night Out celebration.

This was Suffolk’s eighth year participating in National Night Out, which included 35.4 million participants in over 10,000 communities across the country. After the August event, participating cities submit both written and video documentation of their National Night Out event(s). Suffolk’s participation entry was selected from 294 entries in category three, which included cities with populations of 50,000-99,999.

This year Suffolk had its largest National Night Out ever with over 5,000 people in 40 communities and businesses participating in National Night Out events and pre-events. Debbie George, Director of Media and Community Relations, who chairs Suffolk’s National Night Out committee, credits citizen and business involvement for the high finish, “It was truly incredible to see our citizens and communities working together for a common cause. I think everyone that participated in National Night Out in Suffolk this year felt the energy and community spirit at the events and recognized that Suffolk was experiencing something special.” George also credited Police Chief William Freeman, who announced his retirement earlier this week.

“Chief Freeman has always put great value in National Night Out and the partnerships formed while planning the events,” George said. “Suffolk’s first place finish is an impressive footnote to an exceptional career.”

The first place finish was up two positions from last year’s ranking. Suffolk was the highest placing Virginia city in any of the entry categories and the only city in Hampton Roads to be recognized. To view Suffolk’s video entry, go to http://www.suffolknno.org/.