2014JANFEB

www.fbinaa.org

www.fbinaa.org

J A N 2 0 1 4 F E B

J A N 2 0 1 4 F E B

ASSOCIATION PERSPECTIVE

Association Perspective continued from page 4

by President Laurie Cahill

member brought in only one new member that has fallen off, how much stronger the FBINAA can be! Concentrate on contacting recent graduates to make them feel welcome to attend Chapter events to continue the “NA Experience”. 2) Add/Increase Member Benefits – I am calling on you, our Association members, to advise us of any company, corporation or group, etc. that can improve the benefits we currently have while adding increased value to our quality membership. 3 ) Present the 50th Annual Training Conference in Philadelphia, PA – Please plan to attend the conference which will be held from July 26-29. Opening Ceremonies will take place on Saturday, July 26th, which is different than previous years. The conference theme is “One Mission, One Focus, One Family”. I pledge to you that the Eastern Pennsylvania Chapter and supporting Section IV Chapters are planning an event for you and your family to remember in the “City of Brotherly Love”. 4) Continue to work with the FBINAA Foundation to remind our members of the mission that focuses on the needs of our FBINAA members (in disaster/hardship situations) and significant training initiatives such as the recent Human Trafficking Summit held in Ottawa, Canada. 5) Promote the FBINAA partnership with SafeCallNow to empower fellow law enforcement professionals to seek assistance when they are in crisis. 6) Lastly and stolen from my predecessor and good friend, Past President Doug Muldoon , let’s make our FBINAA Chapter events learning opportunities while enjoying our camaraderie . The FBINAA is truly a family... deep in spirit, energy and determination achieved from our common experiences we developed while training at the FBI Academy. Can you play a part to help us achieve these and other goals? Together, I know our organization can grow and accomplish great things…I hope you will be an active part in our positive progress. Wishing you all the very best for a productive and enjoyable year ahead. Please stay safe and always remember to “Reach for the stars!”

Another New Beginning:

A s we begin another New Year, I am certain 2014 will be one full of new accomplishments, adventures and endeavors. I want you to know how deeply honored and privileged I feel to serve as President to the members of our great Association. The FBI National Academy Associates is truly the strongest law enforcement network in the world and each of us can attest to the many examples of how this is true. Each one of us holds a special benefit, in that we can communicate by “phone calling/Skyping/emailing/snail-mailing/texting/instant messaging/ FBINAA Mobile Messaging” a classmate or another NA graduate who will drop everything to help a fellow graduate whether it is for assistance on a law enforcement case, requests for information or good advice on a vacation spot or homeownership. How many other groups/affiliations can offer such a sacred connection? The 2014 Executive Board and Executive Director Greg Cappetta are anxious to work with the newly appointed FBI Director James Comey . A few of our Board members had the privilege of meeting with Mr. Comey during the 254th Session Graduation and they were enthusiastic by the Director’s passion and dedication to the FBINAA. We surely look forward to Director Comey’s exceptional leadership, as well as a continued collaborative partnership with all members throughout the FBI. In addition, there will be a few new beginnings this year... Chaplain Dan Bateman will take over the reigns from Chaplain Emeritus Billy Gibson . Fortunately, Dan was able to shadow Billy in 2013 so he is ready and able to hit the ground running. We welcome Dan in his new role, and of course, we bid a fond farewell to our dear friend, Billy, who we hope will be able to spend more time traveling the world with his bride, Phyllis . We also wish our good friend, Diane Scanga , much success as she graciously steps down from the Executive Board this year. I will have treasured memories of Diane and Billy as we move forward, as a result of their outstanding leadership abilities and dedication to the FBINAA. I am also very humbled to all the Past Presidents who have served this remarkable Association. Their foresight, distinction and hard work have paved the way for those of us who continue to serve the FBINAA. I am grateful to all of the Past Presidents who are too many to mention, but know that you are truly respected and appreciated. And last but not certainly least, we welcome Joe Hellebrand , as he joins the Executive Board as the newly elected Section III Representative. We look forward to your assistance and vision along your journey on the Board. Our membership is the livelihood of our organization. As Chair of the Membership/Member Services Committee for the past few years, I can attest how vital and important each and every member is to the FBINAA, and to the overall mission of the law enforcement profession. Knowledge, Courage and Integrity are the very tenets that we breathe before, and especially after, our graduation from the FBI Academy grounds in Quantico, Virginia. Often times we are reminded that you cannot just “join” our Association; you must have earned it by your selection, participation and graduation from the FBI National Academy program. As fortunate as we have been to attend and con- tinue to stay active with the FBINAA, there are countless numbers of law enforcement executives who have not had the chance to attend. For many reasons, we owe it to the FBI, our departments and our com-

munities to strengthen our bond by staying active in the FBINAA. To that effort, your Executive Board and Executive Office Staff continue to explore ways to increase membership benefits, provide optimum networking opportunities, while offering quality training to you and your colleagues. We work hard to demonstrate our commitment to provide the best value in your membership. With a slight dues increase that began this year ($10. sworn/active and $5. for retired members), it is evident that the cost of doing business has increased, in addition to compensating the hardworking staff that goes above and beyond ev- eryday for our members. We welcome your comments and suggestions for ways to make improvements that will strengthen our organization. Your opinion matters and we would like to know how we can better serve you and our Association members. The year ahead will continue with the Executive Board members and Executive Office Team working alongside our members on various committees to accomplish the goals of the FBINAA. Those commit- tees and the work with general members fortify our commitment to transparency and efficiency. The established committees are: Execu- tive Office Oversight; Constitution, Bylaws and Policies; Finance; In- ternational; Member Services; Space Working Group; Public/Private Partnership; Training; Youth Leadership Program and Past Presidents Committees. As you can see, a lot of hard work goes into accomplish- ing the goals of the various Committees to carry out the many im- portant initiatives of the Association. Please consider working on one of these committees if a call for participation is offered. Each Board member will Chair one or more committees and they may ask for as- sistance as their committees are reestablished in the year ahead. I would also be remiss if I did not acknowledge the hard work of our dedicated Chapter Officers. Our Executive Board is extremely grateful to the forty-eight Chapters whose Executive Board Officers provide countless volunteer hours to make certain that the Chapters provide training and benefits to our members on a local level. As your President this year, I am optimistic that WE, together with the hard work of our Executive Board, Executive Director, Execu- tive Office Team, along with the 48 Chapters’ Executive Boards, will accomplish the following goals: 1) Increase Membership – This has been my #1 primary goal each and every year since joining the New Jersey Chapter Board and later on the Association’s Executive Board. Just think if each

All the Best,

Laurie Cahill 2014 President

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