Page 7 - February 2017

so tirelessly to create the new plan.
lence and murders. Possibly, the offer to speak at this year’s event came our way because, while addressing the negative fallout, the national false narrative, the anti-police move- ment and all of these major distractions, Lodge 7 has con- tinued to maintain its focus on our job: to serve our members. And that is what we have done. We look forward to sharing our experiences in Nashville.
Meeting Sheriff Clarke
Keynote Address Invitation
Another invitation recently came our way from the National Lodge, one that was unexpected, but very much appreciated. Every year in February, the National Fraternal Order of Police hosts its Leadership Matters Conference that is held near the National FOP office in Nashville, Ten- nessee. At this year’s conference, the Chicago Lodge 7 Pres- ident will be the keynote speaker. We have been invited to share our thoughts, actions and successes during the past nearly three years. The topic of the keynote address is “Leadership Through Adversity.”
We had hoped to provide confirmation that Sheriff David Clarke would be coming to Lodge 7 to sign copies of his new book. During the past few months we have had con- versations with Sheriff Clarke, his personal representatives and his publishers in order to lock down the necessary logistics for this event. We had tentatively scheduled a date in March for the Sheriff to sign copies of his first book Cop Under Fire: Moving Beyond Hashtags of Race, Crime & Pol- itics for a Better America (Worthy Publishing). Due to word that Sheriff Clarke might be appointed to President Trump's administration, we are currently awaiting confir- mation of whether he will be coming to the FOP to sign for members. We will keep you updated via email blasts and our website and Facebook page about when this event will be scheduled. In the meantime, you can pre-order copies of Cop Under Fire at www.BarnesandNoble.com or www.amazon.com. d
The day-to-day process of dealing with what appears to have been a nonstop storm of negativity ever since taking office is something you really don’t contemplate until you back away and look at the past three years in their entirety. Think about what has transpired since April of 2014? Our main thought was to work on a new contract. None of us even knew where Ferguson, Missouri, was. As the incidents occurred, the demonstrations kicked off. Law enforcement communities from across the country have been taking hit after hit ever since.
It appears that the National FOP has recognized the way we have addressed these issues. Maybe it was how we identified the issues at hand that sparked the invitation. Or it might be the way we continually speak to the local media about how the politically motivated diminishment of proactive police work might contribute to increased vio-
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