"Our Coming Year"

July 1, 2000

The conference is over, it’s time for your Board of Directors, Committee chairs and me to get to work! But first, let’s talk a little bit about the conference. Sanibel Island Resort was, as usual, great. It’s somewhat poetic that I was inducted there, because that’s where I made the decision to seek the Presidency and work through the chairs during our last summer conference there in 1996.

A hearty "well done" is extended to Hal Robbins, Amy Borgerson, and Pheona Kaiser, for the hard work they put in to make the conference a success. I would also like to thank Paul and Diana Reble for the volunteer hours they gave the association during the conference.

Once again, our training, under the excellent tutelage of Rick Overman, was outstanding. The venue was wonderful, and I hope all in attendance took advantage of the wonders the west side of our state have to offer.

Four years later, and a lot of learning about what the Florida Chiefs Association stands for, it’s now my turn to take a crack at leading what many view as the finest and most influential chiefs association in America. Big job.

Now, to work: I’ve presented what I hope to accomplish in my all too short year as President to the Board of Directors. Your Executive Board, comprised of Lee Cote, Roy Arigo, Paul Rumbley, Jim Isom, and Past-President Gary Grosser; as well as your District Directors and various committees, will help me to do everything in our collective power to accomplish the goals I’ll briefly discuss in this article. I believe and what I hope to accomplish is:

• We must establish a long-range plan for the association, to include improving on an already excellent financial situation, so we can provide even better service to you, our members, and through you to the citizenry we all serve.



• We must increase our membership in all categories to ensure that we have sustaining leadership in our active membership ranks, and a broadened membership in associate, honorary, sustaining and corporate memberships.



• We passed a by-laws change at the conference that will allow retired chiefs to continue their involvement in the association as sustaining members, and recognize them for the excellent service they provided during their active membership. We must now follow through on that change to honor those who have served the association so well over the years.



• We must seek out members who wish to become more actively involved in the association, and develop them to become leaders within our ranks, so we can continue the good work we’ve experienced over the years, and develop our next generation of board members.



• We must make every effort to enhance our relationships with the Florida League of Cities and the Florida Sheriffs Association. We’ve found over recent years that these relationships come back in spades when we either seek legislation that will further our mission, or fight legislation that will hinder it.



• We must commit to making Bill Berger’s ascent to the Presidency of the IACP an "event to remember" in Toronto next year. I am convinced Bill will leave a legacy as being - if not the greatest, one of the greatest Presidents in the history of the IACP.



• Florida must show up in force in Toronto to support Bill, and work to leave an everlasting impression of how we swing behind our native sons as they ascend to leadership in the IACP.



• We must dedicate ourselves to helping Walt McNeil get elected to the office of 6th Vice-President of the IACP at the 2005 IACP conference in Miami, and to ensure that a Florida Chief is represented in the chairs of the international association.



• We must continue our effort to influence gubernatorial appointments to boards and commissions that affect our profession.



• We must seriously look to finding ways to fund an increased staff for our Executive Director so we can provide the highest level of support to you, our members.