Residents across Brown County participated in the 2013 National Night Out with block parties Tuesday evening.

Organizers of the event said that more than 40 block parties were held across the county.  Neighborhoods held these cookouts, pot-lucks, games, and other activities to help heighten crime and drug prevention awareness in their neighborhoods. National Night Out also helped neighbors get to know each other and helped strengthen relationships between residents and local law enforcement.

“This is Brown County’s fourth year to participate in National Night Out,” said Ray Tipton, Marketing Manager for the Brownwood Area Chamber of Commerce and co-organizer for National Night Out in Brown County.  “Residents in the county need to know the people that live around them so they can keep their neighborhoods safe.  National Night Out is a great time to get to know who lives in your neighborhood so residents can look out for each other – that is the core component to this event.”

Relationships with local law enforcement and first responders are also an important goal for National Night Out.

“This event also helps promote good community relations with police, firefighters and EMS,” Tipton said. “I visited about 12 parties tonight with police officers and city officials, and everyone who we visited with was happy to see police and first responders and be able to visit with them about their neighborhoods.  We hope these parties are the first step in developing neighborhood watch programs.”

This year’s National Night Out is sponsored locally by Heart of Texas Crime Stoppers, WT Harris Company, Guardian EMS, Wal-Mart, 3M Company, ATMOS Energy, Heart of Texas EMS, Oncor, TexasBank, and Weldon Wilson Electric.

CLICK HERE for a BrownwoodNews.com Facebook photo gallery of National Night Out parties in Brownwood Tuesday night.