Chef Robert Irvine is coming to Erie to present a special gift to a retired police officer

Celebrity chef Robert Irvine will be in Erie to present a next-generation wheelchair to a retired Erie police officer on Sept. 10.

The gift is from Irvine's foundation, which supports the military and first responders with health and wellness services, grants to help Gold Star families through hard times, scholarships for military children, and, yes, meals, among other services.

The presentation to former Erie police office Tracie Stucke will be private.

But Irvine will host a tasting and bottle signing featuring his signature brand gin and vodka while he's in Erie.

Tracie Stucke: 'Everybody knows everybody and helps each other'

Tracie Stucke was a patrol officer with the Erie Bureau of Police from 1986 until Oct. 3, 1995, when a vehicle crash damaged her spine. Confined to a wheelchair, she returned to the police department as a civilian dispatcher and and later worked with the department's vice and narcotics unit until her retirement in 2018.

She will receive an iBot motorized wheelchair from the Robert Irvine Foundation. Invented by Segway creator Dean Kamen, the iBot has two sets of wheels that can raise users to eye level with others and navigate challenging terrain.

"It's crazy," Stucke said. "It even climbs and descends stairs."

Stucke had looked into buying an iBot after her accident.

"It cost something like $30,000, and that was in 1995," Stucke said. "Who has $30,000 lying around. So it was, well, when I win the lottery, I'll get one."

But this spring, friends heard that the Robert Irvine Foundation was looking for a worthy recipient in the Erie area for its first iBot donation to a first responder. The foundation has provided a number of the mobility devices to wounded military members nationwide.

Those friends contacted the Robert Irvine Foundation on Stucke's behalf.

"Tracie has been committed and devoted to helping others and is deserving of any assistance that may be directed her way," retired Erie police officer Mark Sanders said in a letter to the foundation outlining Stucke's commitment and continuing support of the department.

"No person in this area is more deserving of that chair," Sean Perseo told the Erie Times-News.

Perseo, of Erie, is ambassador of outreach for Sunbelt Rentals, which works with the Robert Irvine Foundation and the Gary Sinise Foundation on programs benefitting the military and first responders. He is helping to arrange the Gary Sinise Foundation First Responder Appreciation Day, including a performance by Sinise and his Lt. Dan Band, in Erie on Sept. 11 and was among those working on Stucke's behalf.

Phone interviews, notification that she had been approved to receive an iBot and arrangements for measurements and training followed, Stucke said.

"It's pretty surreal that this is actually happening," she said. "It's good that we live in a town where everybody knows everybody and helps each other."

Stucke is the mother of Erie patrol Sgt. David Stucke, who was shot in the leg while investigating a shots-fired report in the city on July 30. He underwent emergency surgery at UPMC Hamot and recently was transferred to UPMC Mercy in Pittsburgh for rehabilitation.

He is doing well, Tracie Stucke said.

"He's way ahead of schedule in what they expected. He's already walking on his own."

Robert Irvine: 'I don't know who cries more'

Irvine is best known for helping struggling restaurant owners revive their businesses on the Food Network's "Restaurant: Impossible" program.

He also is a renowned chef, entrepreneur and philanthropist. His businesses include Robert Irvine's Public House at the Tropicana in Las Vegas, Fresh Kitchen by Robert Irvine at the Pentagon, Robert Irvine Foods and FitCrunch. He also is a cookbook author and the publisher of Robert Irvine Magazine.

Irvine founded the Robert Irvine Foundation in 2014.

"Many, many years ago I worked for another foundation and decided I should start my own foundation based on mental and physical health," Irvine said in a phone interview. "Many foundations out there do great work building homes and doing other things. I really wanted to focus on quality of life — mental and physical well being."

Giving the iBot mobility device to someone previously confined to a wheelchair is especially rewarding — and always emotional, Irvine said.

"I don't know who cries more, me or them," he said.

The device changes lives, Irvine said.

"It gives people back their independence and freedom. It gives them the chance to participate in hobbies and activities that they couldn't do sitting in a wheelchair," Irvine said. "It gives them back confidence, all of which helps with their mental well-being.

"It literally is life-changing."

Irvine said that he is excited about presenting an iBot to Tracie Stucke.

"Tracie is special. She comes from a military family, a first responder family," Irvine said. "She had an amazing career as a police officer and she's an amazing human being."

Irvine served in the Royal Navy and Marines in his native United Kingdom. The military and first responders remain close to his heart.

"We're all on this planet to serve something bigger than ourselves," Irvine said. "What my foundation does is about that, about taking care of those who take care of us on a daily basis and put themselves in harm's way."

The Robert Irvine Foundation recently provided meals and other services to the family of Pennsylvania State Police Trooper Jacques "Jay" F. Rougeau Jr., a Corry native shot and killed in the line of duty in Juniata County on June 17, and to the family of another trooper wounded in a separate encounter with the suspected gunman.

Irvine's public tasting and signing event

The iBot presentation to Tracie Stucke on Sept. 10 will not be open to the public. The event will be hosted by Pete and Dana Zaphiris and Great Lakes Insurance.

Irvine will sign bottles of his Irvine's Spirits gin and vodka at the Fine Wine & Good Spirits store at Yorktown Centre, 2501 W. 12th St., that day.

Tasting begins at noon, signing at 1 p.m. The tasting is free for persons 21 and over. Bottles must be purchased at the event to be signed.

Erie man charged with attempted murder: Patrol Sgt. David Stucke was shot and seriously injured on July 30

Irvine's Spirits are made at a Philadelphia area distillery. A portion of the proceeds from all of Irvine's endeavors benefits the Robert Irvine Foundation.

First Responder Day in Erie: Actor Gary Sinise's Lt. Dan Band will perform during the Sept. 11 event

Contact Valerie Myers at vmyers@timesnews.com.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Chef Robert Irvine is coming to Erie: Here's why and how to meet him