Page 14 - TPA Journal July August 2024

During the Annual Banquet on June 29, 2016 in Grapevine, Texas, a special presentation
was given by past Executive Directors Jack Ryle and Erwin Ballarta. The presentation
provided information on the accomplishments of TPA past Executive Director Glen H.
McLaughlin.

Glen McLaughlin has long been known and revered as the person who nurtured and was the
“Face” for many years of the Texas Police Association. At the 2016 Annual Business Meeting
of the Association, the membership was informed of the formation of the Glen H. McLaughlin
Foundation Fund. The purpose of the Foundation is to assist individual officers and agencies
with the costs of tuition for training that might not be available otherwise.

Glen McLaughlin was the son of a Baptist minister who served churches in New Mexico and
West Texas. After high school, Glen enrolled in Hardin Simmons University in Abilene. After
earning an undergraduate Bachelor of Science degree, he went to work for the Texas
Department of Public Safety (DPS) as a laboratory scientist. One of his most memorable
experiences came with his assignment to assist in the investigation of the explosion of a ship
docked in Texas City in the late 1940ʼs. The ship had been loaded with highly combustible
fertilizer. The explosion almost leveled the town and cost many injuries and fatalities. After
the close of the investigation, Glen returned to DPS headquarters in Austin and resumed his
duties in the lab.

As his career progressed with the Department, Glen began participating in the Texas Police
Association, a professional organization that had played a large part in the move of DPS from
the Highway Department in the 1930ʼs. In 1961, Glen accepted the responsibility of
Secretary of TPA. This was an unpaid position in addition to his duties at DPS headquarters.
Glen served in the position which evolved into the post of Executive Director until 1988. For
more than a quarter of a century, Glen, with the aid of his dear wife and their daughter, carried
on the administrative duties of TPA from his home.

10 www.texaspoliceassociation.com • (512) 458-3140 Texas Police Journal