Page 39 - August 2018

Famil
l
l
l
y
y
y
y
Matters
FOP Picnic brings brothers and sisters together to enjoy a day of what being a member is all about
n BY MITCHELL KRUGEL
n PHOTOS BY JAMES PINTO
Nearly 40 members of 5th District Officer Dorinda Rodgers’ extended family brandished police blue T-shirts adorned with the message, “We are family! So deal with it!” Once again, the Rodgers clan gathered at the annual FOP picnic – as it has for many of Dorinda’s 29 years on the job – to bask in the essence of being a Chicago Police family member that flows through this unifying event.
From the declaration emanating from the Rodgers’ uniform for the day to the tantalizing array of food Academy Instruc- tor Jose Sandoval and longtime friends Carlos Sanchez and Andrew Beluso – who each work in narcotics – cooked up on their massive grill to members walking around with pitchers of thirst-quenching beverages, this day offered all the trappings of a welcome and needed respite for Chicago Police Officers. Lodge 7 leaders were on duty filling ice buckets, handing out ice cream, running games and events and raffling off prizes for the hundreds of members and their kids who attended on this golden July 10 day at Gaelic Park.
All in all, the picnic once again provided a ray of sunshine for Lodge 7 members, many of whom have come for 20 years to enjoy what the Rodgers’ family shirts of a year ago appro- priately noted: “Be with our family and make us happy!” That’s the nuclear family, the FOP family and the CPD family, which when attending the picnic feel like one in the same.
“It’s all about family coming together in one location to cel- ebrate the people who serve the City of Chicago,” observed Zachary Scott, an officer in 005 who has been coming to the picnic for all his 24 years on the job. “It’s one of the better days in the City of Chicago.”
Dorinda Rodgers, an officer in 005, and members of her family come to the Chicago FOP Picnic wearing shirts that state the essence of this event. Rod- gers also brought a family member who came out of his shell.
members who began filling Gaelic Park at 8:30 a.m. turned the FOP Picnic into a taste of Chicago Police. Steaks, burgers, hot peppers, chorizo, shish kabob, arrachera, rotisserie chick- en and lamb were among the entrées members planned and prepped for more than a week. Food, family and fun are all part of the lore the picnic has cultivated going back more than 20 years, when it used to be held at Santa’s Village theme park, and it seems to have become one of the most requested days off throughout the Department.
“The kids are always asking, ‘When’s the picnic? When’s the picnic?’” related Ron Colyar, who retired from 018 in February 2017 after 27 years on and has come to the event for the past 20 summers. “People wait for this day all year long.”
CONTINUED ON PAGE 40
Family to family, grill to grill and canopy to canopy, the
CHICAGO LODGE 7 ■ AUGUST 2018 39