2002 Explorer Scholarship Recipients
The
Florida Police Chiefs Association, through their Foundation, offers $1,000 college scholarships
each year to the top Police Explorers in Florida who have excelled academically and who have
served their post and community with exceptional service. The scholarships are grants to
be used for tuition and books in their academic endeavors at a school of their choice. To
date, the foundation has awarded 32 scholarships. This year, four outstanding individuals
(pictured below) were selected to receive scholarships during a meeting of the Board of
Trustees held in conjunction with the Florida Police Chiefs 50th Annual Summer Training
Conference and Exposition held in Hollywood, Florida, June 30 - July 4, 2002.
Gainesville Police Department
 Delilah Faye Eppolito
is a Lieutenant in Explorer Post 917 sponsored by the Gainesville Police Department. Her
family moved to the Gainesville area in September of 2001 from Clearwater where she had
been a Police Explorer for four years and served as a corporal, sergeant, secretary,
historian, and quartermaster. She also served as Vice President of Programming for local
Explorer groups. Soon after her arrival in Gainesville, she applied and was accepted by the Gainesville
Police Department Explorer Post. She has provided training to post members and was named
to the competition team. She has been an inspiration to the other team members and
they are anxious to participate in the upcoming state competition in Tampa, Florida later
this month.
Ms. Eppolito maintained a grade point average
of 3.9 at Bucholz High School. She plans to attend the Santa Fe Community College in
Gainesville, Florida, where she will work to obtain an Associate of Arts Degree
and then hopes to become a Forensic scientist or crime scene investigator.
Palm Beach Gardens Police Department
 Karen Harris
is a member of Explorer Post 704 sponsored by the City of Palm Beach Gardens Police
Department. She joined the Explorer Post in November of 2000 and has donated more
than 120 hours of community service. Ms. Harris has also been involved in other community
service projects such as: Toys for Tots, Girl Scouts, and tree planting programs sponsored
by ther U. S. Bureau of Land Management, where she has donated more than 450 hours.
She has been named as a representative for
Post 704 at the Florida Association of Police Explorers Annual State Conference which will be
held in Tampa, Florida, later this month.
While she uncertain about a course of study
for her major, she plans to attend either the University of Florida or the University of
Central Florida.
Ormand Beach Police Department
 Shawn McCook
is a Division Chief of Explorer Post 430, sponsored by the Ormand Beach Police Department. Currently, he serves as the
President of the Florida Association of Police Explorers. As a student at Seabreeze High School,
he has received numerous awards including: Superintendent's Scholar Award, Principal's Award, and
Outstanding Male Computer Programmer.
Active in his community, Shawn is a participant in the Teen Court Program and last summer
had the unique privilege of participating in the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Leadership Academy.
Shawn plans to attend the University of North
Florida in Jacksonville, Florida, where he intends to obtain a Bachelor of Arts Degree in either
Criminal Psychology or Criminology to prepare him for a future career in law enforcement.
Coral Springs Police Department
 Diane Price
is the President of Explorer Post 276, sponsored by the Coral Springs Police Department.
She joined the Explorer Post in October of 1999, progressed through the ranks to her
current position and has been President of the Post for the past year. She previously held
the positions of Secretary, Treasurer, Historian, Chaplain, Communications Coordinator,
Honor Guard Member, and Detail Coordinator.
Diane has donated more than 1,000 hours of community
service to the City of Coral Springs through numerous service projects. In addition to being a Police Explorer, Ms. Price is a
volunteer with the Coral Springs Police Department assigned to the Traffic and Criminal I.D. units.
Ms. Price plans to attend the Florida Atlantic University
in Boca Raton, Florida, and obtain a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Criminal Justice. Upon
graduation, she intends to seek employment in law enforcement in South Florida.
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