President’s Message 01/15/08
by Chief Steve Newsom
Greetings, PLEA Members and Park Law Enforcement Professionals,
The past year has been crazy and fast moving for PLEA and I hope to see you all in Cleveland. After a great conference in Chicago we are again getting ready for this year conference in Cleveland and 2009 in St. Louis. We really need dates beyond 2009 and I’m asking some of you to step up and host a future conference. It’s not that difficult with the help from others who have done it, our Executive Director and Executive Board all pitching in.
Our future is based on participation from many agencies across the country. We have grown over the past couple years to over 400 members. We have more agency memberships than ever before. It’s an exciting time for PLEA and it must continue. In this time of more and more budget cuts, it’s critical we all stay connected to help each other and make sure our profession stays viable into the future. I added the committees below and in hope some of you consider joining one and getting more involved. The future of PLEA is yours as some of the executive board members are closing in on retirement including myself. We are going to needs some of our members to step forward to run this organization. If you are coming to the conference and are there on Monday please attend the Board Meeting.
Past Presidents Advisory Committee with the immediate Past President Larry Brownlee appointed as the Chair. This committee shall help form the basis of the PLEA, long-term objectives and programming for the ensuing year. These recommendations shall be presented to the Executive Committee at the annual meeting.
Education Committee with John Nesbit Chair and one of the Directors of the association appointed by the President. It shall have at minimum three other members and have its responsibility, the organization of the educational programming of the Annual Conference Meeting of the Association. This committee may establish and/or administer a scholarship fund for the purpose of aiding individuals pursuing a career in the Park Law Enforcement profession.
Membership Committee with the Vice President (Fred McCormick) as Chair and all members of the Executive Board. This committee will foster membership in the Institute. This committee is required to provide a report to the Board and members annually.
Citation and Awards Committee with Dale Steele as Chair and includes President, immediate Past President and at least three Directors.
I believe very good things are happening with PLEA especially if we continue the support and enthusiasm developed over the last couple of years. Please let’s keep it going for the future of our organization and the future of our profession. I really hope to see you on Cleveland. I know it will be a great learning experience, networking opportunity, and a terrific conference.
Sincerely,
Steve
