MAUMELLE, Ark. — Service is a way of life for Sergeant Eli Keller.
"I love giving back. I love standing up for people who maybe can't stand up for themselves," he said.
Keller oversees Maumelle Police Department's school resource officer division. He is also a dedicated volunteer for Special Olympics Arkansas chosen to help carry the torch on its final leg to the World Games in Abu Dhabi.
"It's very rewarding. It's very humbling," he said. "When you spend a lot of time around someone that's a Special Olympics athlete, they make you want to be a better person."
The Law Enforcement Torch Run is the largest fundraising organization for Special Olympics Arkansas. As a rookie officer in 2006, Keller joined the mission to raise money and awareness through Polar Plunge, Tip-a-Cop, Boots and Badges, and other events.
Almost every year since he has also helped carry the torch from Little Rock to Searcy for the Arkansas Summer Games -- a day full of running that ends with heightened emotion.
"You're physically exhausted, a little emotionally exhausted, sunburnt," he recalled. "And you get into that stadium and all of those athletes are yelling at you and waving."
Keller was nominated and selected to participate in the Law Enforcement Torch Run Final Leg to the Special Olympics World Games. He will depart on February 28 and join about 90 other officers from around the world in Abu Dhabi, where the team will gather and travel together to Fujairah.
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The team will depart Fujairah on March 4th and carry the torch back to Abu Dhabi for opening ceremonies. Keller expects he'll run five to seven miles per day during the 10-day journey throughout the United Arab Emirates.
Keller said he is thankful for the opportunity to represent the Maumelle Police Department and the hundreds of Arkansas law enforcement officers who volunteer for Special Olympics.
"It's very surreal," he said. "You can't really fathom the emotion that goes into it -- the honor, the privilege."
Most of all, he looks forward to sharing an important message inspired by the athletes here at home.
"I would want people to be mindful of leaving people better than you found them, that everybody counts," he said. "Everybody wants the same thing -- to be accepted, to be included. Just be kind to each other."
Keller is participating in a solar polar plunge during his time in the Abu Dhabi desert. The event is a fundraiser for Special Olympics. Click here for more information on how you can donate.