Page 15 - FOP BlueNote 2017 September October Issue EAST

63rd National Biennial Conference

By Terry Mangum – Immediate Past President

On August 26 I travelled to Nashville, Tennessee for the 63rd National Biennial Conference. The Tennessee
State Lodge and Nashville’s Andrew Jackson Lodge 5 did an outstanding job preparing for and hosting this Con-

ference. For me, this was without a doubt the best Conference I have attended since my first National Conference

in 1981. The Gaylord Opryland Resort is a beautiful location and it was completely filled with FOP members from

across the United States.

Many thanks to Past President and Travel and Accommodations Chairman Don Penix for his expeditious work

in getting our rooms reserved so that the North Carolina delegates were able to stay in the Gaylord Opryland Resort.

This Conference set a record for the number of attendees, with registered delegates and alternate delegates totaling

4,247. This huge attendance caused the State Lodges which were slow in providing the paperwork to secure rooms

to have to be housed in hotels elsewhere. Thank you Don for your efforts on our behalf.

There are other articles in this issue of the BlueNote detailing this Conference and the business which was

handled, so I will not repeat it here. There were other activities that I would like to highlight. I would like to begin

by thanking all of the North Carolina delegates who attended and thank them for their steadfast attendance on the

floor of the conference and our caucuses. The members of the North Carolina State Lodge who were unable to

attend can be assured that they were well represented by our delegates in Nashville.

On Sunday, August 27, Chaplain Phil Wiggins held a Church Service for any FOP members who would like to

attend. This was the first time that a church service was held during the National Conference and I feel it was well

attended being a new endeavor. The service was held in the Gaylord Opryland Resort in a large meeting room and
began at 8:00 a.m. The next Biennial Conference in New Orleans should have even more attendees at Phil’s church

service. Also, each morning during the Biennial Conference Chaplain Phil Wiggins gave the Invocation and on the

last day he gave the Convocation as well.
On Sunday evening there was a welcome to Nashville “Party in the Yard” on the grounds of the Gaylord Opry-

land Resort. It was a great night of music with a Drink Garden and a variety of Nashville’s best food trucks. Music

was provided by Diamond Rio, Branch and Dean, and Redhead Express, to name a few.
Monday night’s event was billed as “Night Out In Nashville Bash: Tour Downtown Nashville.” This event

included round trip transportation to Downtown Nashville where you could enjoy visiting the honkytonks, music,

museums, and the many restaurants.
Tuesday night featured the “Meet the Candidates Hospitality Night.” Here you could visit the candidates Hos-

pitality rooms to enjoy snacks, beverages, and conversations with the National Executive Board candidates. A spe-

cial treat for the attendees was Milwaukee County Sheriff David A. Clarke Jr. who posed for photos with FOP

members. Sheriff Clarke has become a regular commentator on Fox News and is a vocal supporter of President
Trump’s law-and-order platform. On August 31 he wrote on Twitter that he was in Nashville for the National

Fraternal Order of Police Conference and reminded his 768,000 Twitter followers that the Fraternal Order of Police
endorsed Donald Trump during last year’s election.

On Wednesday afternoon we were treated to some outstanding Cajun Food. This event was hosted by National
Secretary Pat Yoes and the Louisiana Fraternal Order of Police. This “Taste of Louisiana” was designed to serve

as a preview of the Southern Hospitality that awaits us at the 2019 National Biennial Conference in New Orleans.

The delicious food included shrimp creole, fried alligator, fried crawfish, jambalaya, and gumbo.

On Wednesday night there was a special Fraternal Order of Police Country Music Concert at the Grand Ole

Opry. All attendees were FOP members and all of the performers were obvious supporters of law enforcement.

The special performers included Vince Gill, John Conlee, Craig Morgan, Mark Wills, and Maggie Rose. The music

was great, the fellowship was wonderful, and the appreciation of our profession shown to us by the performers was

amazing. This special night at the Grand Ole Opry was the highlight of the 63rd National Biennial Conference

entertainment events and a great way to end the festivities.

Congratulations to President Chuck Canterbury, Vice President Jay McDonald, Secretary Pat Yoes, Treasurer

Tom Penoza, and Second Vice President Les Neri on their re-election. And congratulations to the new Sergeant at

Arms Keith Turney and the new Chairman of Trustees Rob Pride.

Cont’d on Page 17

www.ncfop.org 15