On April 26, 2017, Correctional Sgt. Meggan Callahan at Bertie Correctional Institution responded to a trash can fire in the cell block. After Sgt. Callahan extinguished the fire using a fire extinguisher, the inmate who set the fire, ambushed her. She had wrote a disciplinary report for him about 30 minutes prior. He continued with his planned attack and was eventually able to use the fire extinguisher as a weapon against Sgt. Callahan. Sgt. Callahan suffered burns to her face, chest and left arm. She suffered traumatic head injuries as a result of the assault and died a short time after being transported for medical care. She had been with the North Carolina Department of Public Safety for 5 years and left behind her parents, a 5 year old nephew she had helped raise since birth and a fiancé.

Sgt. Robert Alley from Marion Correctional Institution had never worked with or knew Sgt. Callahan personally, but her death had a profound affect on him. He has mourned her loss since the day of her murder. In May of 2022, he approached Laura Matthews and said he wanted to raise money for the Correctional Peace Officers Foundation and make sure her family and coworkers knew that she would never be forgotten. He loves cooking and this led him to create a cookbook dedicated to Meggan as well as comrades lost through the years at Marion Correctional Institution. Sgt. Alley and the staff at MCI published and sold this cookbook.  When combined with the proceeds with MCI’s annual golf tournament for CPOF, they earned a Lifetime Facility Sponsorship for Marion Correctional Institute and have worked to assist other prisons in the Western Region that are working on their facility sponsorships.

Warden Ben Carver of MCI challenged Warden Bret Bullis of Avery Mitchell Correctional Institute to obtain his Lifetime Facility Sponsorship which led to the epic 80’s Prom.

The efforts of Sgt. Alley and the rest of the staff at MCI have not gone unnoticed.

Wendy Callahan, Sgt. Callahan’s mother has been incredibly touched by the efforts of Sgt. Alley and the staff at MCI. Not just with the cookbook and keeping her daughter’s memory alive, but also for the efforts of MCI when her daughter was killed.

” I would like to thank Marion Correction Institute for this creative and beautiful cookbook. The proceeds go to CPOF who also were invaluable to our family when Meggan was killed. The Bertie Officers were able to attend Meggan’s Funeral due to many Officers in the mountains of NC coming all the way here to work at Bertie(6-7 hours away). No one can ever know what your sacrifices mean to families like ours, God Bless you!”

Thank you North Carolina Field Representative Laura Matthews for sharing the amazing things happening in North Carolina.

The Correctional Peace Officers Foundation wishes you the best of luck with your upcoming golf tournament!