His musical talents and tunes about safety and obeying the law earned this Flint police officer the nickname the "Singing Cop," but his lifetime dedication to children's safety has earned Lt. Wilburn LeGree the State Bar of Michigan's 1999 Liberty Bell Award.

LeGree, 93, will be honored with this award during the Thursday, September 16 luncheon of the State Bar's 64th Annual Meeting. The award recognizes outstanding citizens within the community.

LeGree will be recognized for outstanding service performed by a non-lawyer citizen who has given his time in an effort to strengthen the effectiveness of the American system of freedom under law, in keeping with the spirit of our Constitution.

LeGree has served the Flint and Genesee County community for over 61 years educating elementary school students about obeying the law, safety in all situations and seeing police officers as friends.

After serving 25 years on the Flint Police Department, where he rose to the rank of lieutenant, he worked as a high school counselor at Davison High School and was one of the principal individuals who started the Teen Court in Flint in 1959.

LeGree's career as the "Singing Cop" began in 1938 after a rise in rates of children being struck and killed by vehicles. LeGree was assigned to develop a school safety program and incorporate something that would grasp the children's attention -- music. The chief of police overheard LeGree singing and decided to put LeGree's talents to work.

LeGree and his wife wrote words to popular musical tunes about obeying the law, safety in all situations and seeing police officers as friends. He visited hundreds of schools and sang his songs to children. Before he stopped counting, he estimated that he had performed safety songs to 25,000 students over a four-year period.

LeGree's songs have been used in 46 states across the country as well as schools in Germany, Australia and New Zealand.

It has been 40 years since LeGree retired from the police force yet he is still educating local children about safety.

In 1986, the Genesee County Bar Association awarded LeGree with the local Liberty Bell Award to publicly recognize his dedication to educating and saving the lives of children.