Message from the President
By David J. Mahoney
The 74th Annual Convention held at the Kalahari Family Resort in Wisconsin Dells was a “huge success” for our members and families, as well as an outstanding opportunity to highlight our Association during our first political “town hall forum.” We were fortunate to have been joined by all the candidates for governor and attorney general to address the issues of importance to our members. We each must remain involved in the political process and support those candidates who support us in matters, such as collective bargaining rights, arbitration of discipline, and protective status for jailers. Look for the attorney general and gubernatorial candidate survey included in this edition of the Wisconsin Police Journal. Please complete the postage-paid survey and return it to the Madison office for consideration by the WPPA PAC Committee as they evaluate the upcoming races.
I would also like to commend our convention host locals, Dane County and Madison, for their outstanding work and organization. As well, I would like to thank the entire WPPA staff who, as always, “stepped-up” and did an excellent job in planning and facilitating the convention activities, and in meeting the needs of our attendees.
Speaking of workshops, I spoke with many attendees who found Dr. Alexis Artwohl’s presentation on critical incidents extremely useful. I encourage you to make your request known to either myself, Judy Urso, or the home office in Madison if you want presentations like this in the future.
If you were unable to attend the convention this year, I encourage you to make plans early to attend next year. The 2007 convention will be held May 19 through 21 and will prove to be a memorable convention as the WPPA will celebrate 75 years of service to our members. Many plans are being made now to make the 2007 convention special, which will again be held at the Kalahari Family Resort in Wisconsin Dells. Plan to join us next May and enjoy what we have in store.
The convention followed the Wisconsin Law Enforcement Memorial Ceremony and the first annual WPPA Pancake/Sausage Breakfast on May 19. I would like to thank our WPPA staff, business agents, and Dane County retirees Dennis Chadwick, his wife Chyril, and Bernie Reinfeldt, who served an estimated 300 officers, deputies, troopers, and their families. Plan to join the WPPA on May 18, 2007 for the second annual breakfast.
Have you ever thought of getting more involved in your statewide association and wanted to have a seat on the WPPA Board of Directors? There is no better time than now. Look for the special article in this issue outlining the seats currently available and how to apply for an appointment.
As always, if you have an issue within your local that you or your local board feel is not receiving the proper amount of attention from your WPPA Business Agent or other WPPA staff, please don’t let the issue “simmer” and call the Madison office at 1-800-362-8838 or 608-273-3840, or send an e-mail to either myself (Mahoney@wppa.com) or Executive Director Tom Bahr (Bahr@wppa.com).
Until we meet again, take care of those who take care of you. Be safe!
