Officer Bill Tome has been the director of the Boynton Beach Police Department’s Police Athletic League program for more than 22 years, coaching children in basketball and football.
Tome has planned to retire next May.
Last week, during the PAL Football Camp with the Pros, the Ezell Hester Center’s football field and scoreboard was renamed the Bill Tome Sports Complex, 1901 N. Seacrest Blvd.
Boynton Beach Police Officer Rick Lauture initiated and sought approval from the city’s Parks and Recreation Commission for the dedication.
Lauture said Tome went into the community, took children off of the streets and put them in a place that allowed them to grow and develop.
Tome began his career with the Boynton Beach Police Department in 1987, serving five years as a road patrol officer before being assigned the task of creating Recreation Athletics and Police, which later became the Police Athletic League.
Mike Rumph a retired NFL defensive back played on PAL’s inaugural football team and started a camp seven years ago as a way of giving back to the program that helped him achieve his dream of playing in the pros.
Rumph said that Tome was more than a friend but that he showed him there were more to life than what they saw on the streets.
Mike Rothman can be reached at mkrothman@tribune.com.