Page 14 - FOP BlueNote Vol III issue xxii Nov Dec 2016i ALL
P. 14
FOP Relevancy … Cont’d from P. 3 their term. We should support them the responding Officer. The day-to-day
when they make or are a part of decisions threat of an officer losing his or her life
So one should ask, how does this con- that will positively affect the Law En- (on or off duty) has become a reality with
forcement profession. In other instances, the recent unprovoked attacks across the
cept of relevancy play into the North we may also need to chastise them when country. As a profession, we are in a cri-
decisions are made that may negatively sis! Yet, despite the many associated
Carolina Fraternal Order of Police. The impact the Law Enforcement profession. pressures, our brothers and sisters still
Having the FOP endorsement should remain dedicated to their oath of “pro-
concept of relevancy starts at the top! As mean something more to them. They tecting and serving.” Despite all of the
great leader’s we all must continually should carry the knowledge that they are negativity and rhetoric, “we” still come
receiving the support of the more than
perform at high levels of efficiency and 6000 members of the organization. At a to work every day, (sometimes at the
minimum to them, we should be known crack of dawn or in the middle of the
routinely self-evaluate ourselves by ask- to them as “that is a group who is going night), we work our tour and many times
to hold me accountable!” We should be go home whenever the mission is com-
ing the questions: plete. Now more than ever, the FOP’s
on their frequent e-mailing/postal mail-
Am I truly being an asset to the ing lists, and/or we should become fre- mission to remain relevant is critical and
quent visitors to their office and/or essential. Yet in North Carolina alone,
Order? chambers. We should be “that source” we still have over 20,000 Law Enforce-
ment brothers and sisters who remain un-
Am I just holding on to past they call when there is any question as to associated and/or unprotected. We must
how a decision is going to impact the become relevant to these individuals!
greatness? Law Enforcement profession. In es-
sence, the FOP’s relevancy to this politi- The Fraternal Order of Police is the
Am I still relevant or is it my greatest law enforcement support organ-
cian is going to impact his or her ac- ization anywhere! This organization is a
time to go? countability, thus sending the strong membership based driven organization,
message; we just don’t give our endorse- which makes it so great. Moving for-
By staying, am I preventing oth- ment to just anyone and you weren’t just ward, we (the State Executive Board)
will need each and every member in each
ers from having the same oppor- randomly selected. It should be taken as and every lodge in the state to continue
a matter of pride and accomplishment to step-up and maintain the same level of
tunity to learn, grow and ad- that you received the FOP’s approval, success of the previous administration.
and you will be held to the highest stand- Together as more than 6,000 members,
vance as I did? ards of office. Again, as a Lodge, we we can continue to move this organiza-
must hold those politicians, judicial can- tion into uncharted waters and find that
Most importantly, have I identi- didates, businesses, and other entities ac- long term sustainability which we seek.
countable to their promises or commit- We must remain relevant as the leaders
fied my successor(s)? ments that they have made to law en- of the local, state and national lodges. At
forcement as they continue to seek our no point should we ever be questioned as
Organizationally, we have to be en- endorsements and/or backing. We can no to our relevancy as it relates to our mem-
longer accept their mediocre commit- bers, profession, and society.
gaged in the current topics, trends and/or ments! This is the type of relevancy that
we owe to our membership. Finally, as I close I would like to take
practices of Law Enforcement across the a moment and personally thank Doris
The climate of Law Enforcement and
nation and throughout the world. Alt- community’s perception seems to be at Kirby, John Byrd, Phil Fergu-
son and Michael Hawkins for their
hough the FOP is a member driven/run an all-time low; yet, our brothers and sis- many years of dedication and frontline
ters across America and throughout the service to the Order. Your sacrifices both
organization, it is my opinion that this world remain relevant and vigilant. With personally and professionally reach far
the many acts of violence throughout and beyond what words can never de-
type of relevancy starts from the top America today such as Dallas, Baton scribe. Your relevancy to the Order is
Rouge and most recently right here at and will always be a major reason as to
down. As leaders of this great organiza- home in Charlotte, it has increased the why we continue to exist as an organiza-
pressures associated with being a Law tion. So I say “thank you” to each of you,
tion, we must remain in constant contact Enforcement Officer in today’s society. and may God continue to bless each of
The days of the old cliché of a “routine you. We love You Guys, and your pres-
and we must consult with those men and call” are no more! Each call seemingly ence will be missed.
women who serve daily on the front line. presents itself as a possible template for
ambush and/or litigation for or against
Leaders must frequently monitor local,
state and national news outlets in order
to see what is happening and impacting
the Law Enforcement profession across
the nation and throughout the world. As
leaders, we must interact with all of the
lodges throughout the state, and some-
times beyond, in order to encourage, en-
able and sometimes demand this same
type of relevancy from those same
lodges to engage in the same or like prac-
tices. Our membership deserves nothing
less!
This practice of Relevancy can also
be tied to our political affiliations and en-
dorsements. As many of you saw during
the most recent State Conference, there
were multiple politicians who were seek-
ing and depending on the support and en-
dorsement of the NCFOP. Even after our
endorsement is given, we must keep
them accountable by remaining a rele-
vant presence to them as they serve out
www.ncfop.org 14
