Page 8 - WEST FOP BlueNote 2017 Jan Feb Issue
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Consider an Auxiliary Lodge Focusing on Our Members and
By Lynn Wilson – State Secretary Profession
I hope everyone had a safe and healthy holiday sea- By Chuck Kimble – State Second Vice President
son with lots of time with family and friends, to include
your family in blue. Our families and our blue families Republicans or Democrats. Moderates or Independents.
mean a lot to us. How many of you have ever thought of
getting your family more involved with your blue family Black or White. There are many things and entities that
within your lodge? If you have, an Auxiliary Lodge is a
great way of doing just that. The Auxiliary’s organiza- attempt to separate us as Americans, and the last political
tion operates in the same manner as our Lodges with the
same type of structure. They have a Grand Auxiliary process was a good example. I suggest that we, as members
Lodge, a State Auxiliary Lodge, and local Auxiliary
Lodges with their own Constitution and By Laws. The of the Fraternal Order of Police focus on the things that bind
Auxiliary also has Grand Lodge meetings, State Lodge
meetings, and Local regular monthly membership meet- us together.
ings.
For our sworn law enforcement officers we, at some
Currently there are only five (5) Auxiliary lodges in
North Carolina and the newest Auxiliary Lodge is in point in our careers, took an oath, a promise, and swore be-
Asheville and was formed in the Spring of 2015. The
Harold C. Enloe/Jamie Cohen Auxiliary Lodge #1 fore our families, friends and communities that we would
was sworn in by National President Chuck Canter-
bury at last year’s Southern States Association meet- uphold the Constitution of the United States of America (re-
ing held in Asheville. Also in attendance were mem-
bers of the National Executive Board. With such an gardless of whom is the President). We may not have the
awesome launch we knew the Lodge 1 Auxiliary
would do great things. same views as our politically elected leaders but, they were
How many public events does your Local Lodge elected in a democratic process and we owe it to our com-
participate in during the year? What type of events
does your Local Lodge hold for its members or re- munities to provide excellent police service, regardless of
cruiting events to procure new members? While the
Auxiliary Lodge takes care of their business, they can who authored the laws.
also be a tremendous asset and of great assistance to your
Local Lodge. The Auxiliary members can assist you at As law enforcement professionals
your Lodge events, and they can conduct beneficial
events on their own. They are extra voices helping to let’s try to avoid the rhetoric that
promote and to get the FOP word out.
could attempt to drive a wedge be-
We, as officers, know and understand the ins and outs
and the good and bad of the law enforcement profession. tween us. There are many organiza-
We need and do use each other as sounding boards, ther-
apist, stress relievers, and just plain friends. We share tions that try on a daily basis to por-
discussions and address issues which non-LEOs may not
understand. The same applies for our personal families. tray the law enforcement community
There are parts of their lives that non-LEO families have
no clue about and probably would not understand. An as the bad guys and some of these or-
Auxiliary can be a positive tool for our personal families.
The Auxiliary is a good place for our family members to ganizations have even called for
get to know each other. It is important for them to be able
to have other folks in the same situations to speak and physical confrontations with us in our
share with and to learn from. And you may even get
more of your own members to show up for meetings. law enforcement communities. As I
Chuck Kimble type this article, according to the Of-
ficer Down Memorial Page, the number
2nd Vice President of law enforcement officers killed by
gun fire is up 72% as compared to last year. This number
is unacceptable and preventable; if no one is willing to
stand up for the law enforcement community we must take
it upon ourselves to protect each other. Brothers and Sisters
when possible, wait for back-up; wear your bullet resistant-
vests; and demand that your employers are doing all they
can to keep you safe. If you need assistance in any of these
areas please reach out to the North Carolina Fraternal Order
of Police for assistance.
Lastly, we have strength in numbers. Please challenge
yourself and your lodge to increase membership in the
North Carolina Fraternal Order of Police. Each of you read-
ing this article can provide real-world examples on the im-
portance of the Fraternal Order of Police, such as the officer
involved shootings in Charlotte that involved FOP mem-
bers who were professionally represented and are still em-
ployed; and how an on-duty Sheriff’s employee was in-
volved in a fatal traffic collision in Cumberland County and
is still employed. Find someone in your city or county law
enforcement agency and tell them how to become a mem-
ber of the FAMILY of the Fraternal Order of Police.
www.ncfop.org 8
