Page 9 - FOP BlueNote 2017 September October Issue WEST

63rd Biennial National Conference and Expo

By Randy Hagler--- State President

Well, the National Fraternal Order of Police 63rd Biennial National Conference and Expo is in the book! This was the largest
national conference that anyone could remember with 3,738 delegates and 509 alternate delegates attending and registered. It
far surpassed previous national conferences in size. The conference was held in the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention
Center in Nashville, Tennessee. This hotel has more than 2,800 rooms and approximately 9 acres under its roof and is located
just east of downtown Nashville and the National FOP Headquarters. Several times during the conference President Canterbury
made announcements about Hurricane Harvey and how it was affecting our officers as well as the citizens of Texas. President
Canterbury asked for a moment of silence in honor of the Houston Police Sergeant Steve Perez who lost his life trying to get
to work after the flood. He was a 34 year veteran of the Houston Police Department.

When this conference was planned more than four years ago, the Tennessee FOP believed they could get the entire confer-
ence in the Gaylord Opryland Resort. This conference grew in size and very quickly the Tennessee FOP realized they needed
more hotel space. When it was all said and done, the conference attendees stayed at the Gaylord Opryland Resort or one of the
four other hotels booked for the conference. North Carolina FOP registered early and our approximately 80 delegates had
excellent rooms in the host hotel.

Security was an important part of planning for this conference. Our FOP Brother Carlton Stallings, National Trustee from
Georgia, along with our Sergeant At Arms Roger Mayberry are to be commended for all the security measures that were put
in place to ensure the safety of everyone attending.

The week’s events kicked off with our very own State Chaplain, and also National Chaplain, Phil Wiggins having a church
service on Sunday morning prior to the Pre-Conference Board Meeting. The service was well attended and Chaplain Wiggins
did an outstanding job of setting the tone for the conference. Also on Sunday the Expo opened with many police friendly
vendors offering a variety of products to our membership. By Sunday afternoon registration was in full swing with long lines
that moved quickly. The National FOP employees working the registration lines did a great job of getting everyone registered
and ready for the conference. They handled problems quickly and efficiently that came up, taking good care of all of our
members.

On Monday the National Conference started with an address from United States Attorney General Jeff Sessions. During
Attorney General Sessions’ address, he made it clear that both he and President Trump support law enforcement and they want
to continue that support into the future.

After the remarks from Attorney General Sessions, the FOP Auxiliary conducted a Memorial Service to honor the officers
that had been killed since our last National Conference. Afterward it was the regular order of business with reports from the
Executive Board and National Trustees.

This conference had a number of Amendments to our National Constitution and By-Laws that will be written about by Terry
Mangum, Chairman of the Grand Lodge Constitution and By-Laws Committee. Some of these will certainly affect our State
Lodge Constitution as well. There were also a number of Resolutions submitted and voted for by the delegates and our National
Trustee Dennis McCrary will report on those.

During the conference thousands of dollars were pledged by various lodges from across the country to support our FOP
Brothers and Sisters in Texas effected by Hurricane Harvey and the flooding. Also, various lodges pledged financial support
for the Police Officer Memorial Service held each year in Washington, DC. This annual Memorial Service was started by the
FOP and is funded entirely by our organization. All funds collected will go through the National FOP Foundation and will be
dispersed accordingly.

Your newly elected Grand Lodge Executive Board Officers are:

President Chuck Canterbury
Vice President Jay McDonald
Secretary Patrick Yoes
Treasurer Tom Penoza
2nd Vice President Les Neri
Sergeant at Arms Keith Turney
Chairman of the Trustees Rob Pride

With the exception of Chairman of the Trustees position, all candidates were elected during the election process. Chairman
of the Trustees Pride was elected by his fellow Trustees at the conclusion of the conference. Congratulations to our newly
elected Executive Board.

Continued With Pictures on Page 11

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