The Georgia Southern University’s Office of Public Safety brought home the second place award from the 13^th Annual Georgia Governor’s Challenge Awards, hosted by the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety (GOHS) on Friday.

The ceremony featured seven different categories based on law enforcement size and other special categories.

This year, Public Safety officers traveled to Macon to accept the award.

“It comes with three thousand Governor’s Bucks that we can use to buy different equipment,” Chief Michael Russell, director of public safety, said

The University of Georgia won first place at the event.

“They got third place in the nation as well,” Russell said.

Throughout the year, the participating law enforcement organizations partook in Georgia’s “Click It Or Ticket” campaign and hosted events such as University Police’s Under the Influence.

The GOHS awarded points based on the success of those events.

University Police has participated in the challenge since 2006 and placed year except one.

In 2010, University Police placed first in the state and the nation.

During the ceremony, 10 winners each had a chance to win an SUV from the GOHS.

“Out of all the winners, they draw names out of a hat and those people get to choose a key,” Russell said.

Each winner chose a key, but only one of the keys started the vehicle.

“Unfortunately it wasn’t us that won,” Russell said.

The Lavonia Police Department had the lucky key and won the vehicle.