FBINAA Associate Magazine Q2.2021

Continued from "The Historian's Spotlight", on page 26

F B I N A A . O R G | A P R I L / J U N E 2 0 2 1

(L-R) Attendees at 1983 Bramshill Conference; 2005 Conference in Scotland: Hanneke Brouwer, President-Elect for 2006 (Netherlands), Laurie Cahill (Hanneke’s roommate for Session 198 and eventual 2016 National President) and Cindy Reed, 134th Session and National Historian; Tom Colombell hands over scrapbook of the Chapter to European Secretary Orlando Gnosca.

well as welcoming a second NA graduate to his country of Mona- co which he asserts makes it the highest density of NA graduates per square kilometre in the world.) The Chapter President is responsible for arranging the an- nual European Training Conference during their year of office, and now has a sound financial footing due to the work of suc- cessive Treasurers. The reputation of the Chapter and its annual conferences attracts sponsors with a number of regulars who continue to support the event each year. The reputation of these events has also attracted a cadre of fellow American FBINAA col- leagues who have joined the Chapter and regularly join the event in Europe. The rotation of the conference to a different European coun- try each year provides an opportunity to experience different cul- tures, political and policing environments. It is also an excellent example of the fellowship enjoyed by graduates of the National Academy across language barriers and country boundaries. All classes are conducted in English for ease of communication. The great success and reputation for this Chapter’s conferences has led to some countries now holding smaller meetings and semi- nars for their graduates. The European Chapter has fully funded a European Can- didate each year for the Youth Leadership programme since its inception, in recognition of this excellent initiative.

permitted to attend. The proof of that theory was an increase from 100 to 350 delegates attending in Rome plus their spouses. That conference also marked a change in previous traditions: retired members were allowed to attend and the locations were not limited to a recognized training facility. In the early days the chapter was small with no financial security. Costs were kept low to encourage attendance, as some did not receive departmental support and paid their own costs. One European graduate has attended 25 conferences at his own cost, and on his own time, having missed only one since gradu- ation. He wisely decided that the birth of his son should take precedence for the one absence (spousal influence being a factor once again). S ir David O’Dow d gave credit in his 2007 speech to Darrell Mills , FBI Legat in London for being “responsible to stock the bar with duty free refreshments... even that terrible American concoction called bourbon.” Sir O’Dowd also gave special credit to another member of the FBI, Tom Colombell , who began serving as the Supervisor over the NA Training Sessions throughout the world in 1983. Ac- cording to O’Dowd “when Tom joined the Quantico team he soon realised that the European Chapter needed support to ensure the training would continue. He was a more consistent attendee at these conferences than some – if not many – of the European mem- bers. ‘Mr. NA’ as Tom became known by many was the constant that always seemed to be there when assistance was needed from Quantico.” When Colombell became the Executive Director of the FBINAA in 2003, he continued his support of the chapter. Darrell Mills retired in 1993 but maintained his personal commitment to keep the chapter on a secure financial footing by seeking sponsorship money which exceeded $250K in 2007. As an illustration of the importance of a good financial footing, in 1995 when Nigel Clarke took over as Secretary/Treasurer, there was 3K pounds in the treasury. When Grahame Maxwell took over, the balance had grown to 50K pounds. Current Treasurer Olivier Jude has continued the good money management (as

See below for list of all European Conferences: 1983 Bramshill, England 1984 Muenster, Germany 1985 Zutphen, Holland 1986 Wolfsberg, Switzerland 1987 Avila, Spain 1988 Oslo, Norway 1989 Copenhagen, Denmark 1990 Rome, Italy

1991 Korsor, Denmark 1992 Brussels, Belgium

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