2007 in Review
History of FMCPAAA 2007
The Beginning.
The group began the year with the election of the new officers. Carolle Cox was elected President, Kerry Sawick was elected Vice-President, Lowell McCracken was elected Secretary and Nanci Brown was elected as Treasurer. Additionally, Dennis Rains was appointed as Parliamentarian and Scott Townsend as Historian. Lowell McCracken succeeded Carolle Cox when she relocated to Maryland and Dennis Rains took over as Secretary. More on Carolle's departure later.
CPSP.
The Citizen's Public Safety Patrol (CPSP) was formed in March 2nd of 2007. Planning on the organization began approximately 6 months before hand. Greg Meyers was the organization's first coordinator and Don Chambers was the first supervisor. The group conducted its first training in March and patrols began using the unmarked detective Ford Taurus. There were 19 founding members. There was a subsequent training classes during the year bringing the ranks to 28 by the end of the year. Later in the year the unmarked car was replaced by a marked Ford Taurus and the Alumni Association purchased an amber light bar for the vehicle. During the course of the year, the CPSP was credited with the apprehension and subsequent arrest of one drunken driver, found two lost special needs adults who were lost on Halloween, worked several traffic accidents and several motorist assists. Additionally, the CPSP embarked on a fevered public education effort on the organization, appearing at several block parties, numerous Town sponsored events and National Night Out.
Officer Schmidt.
On the 25th of July 2007, Officer Kevin Schmidt was injured responding to a vehicle speeding through the town and the organization rallied behind him. Several fundraisers were conducted, including one at Chick-fil-A where an officer and a FMCPAAA member worked the drive through from Sunrise to Sundown in an effort to solicit donations. The Association also helped organize a motorcycle ride to raise money for medical and other expenses for the Schmidt's. But more about Officer Schmidt later.
4th of July Celebration at FMHS and 4th of July Parade.
The CPSP stepped up again and assisted the department with support at both the 4th of July Parade and Fireworks display at new location FMHS. The patrol deployed members throughout the stadium and school grounds freeing officers to patrol the perimeter. In fact there was only one officer in the stadium. Doug Graves served as coordinator for the event as our eye in sky working alongside police dispatchers, fire officials, firework coordinators and SGT Wess Griffin. It was a great event, where the department saw almost perfect execution from our patrol members.
Open House.
The department hosted its first ever open house this year. FMCPAAA members were present throughout the building giving tours of the department, assisting citizens or showing off the CPSP car. Don Chambers was instrumental in getting FMTV involved who filmed the entire process, gaining the department some valuable air time.
National Night Out.
Although mentioned earlier, this August event was an outstanding showing for the FMCPAAA and CPSP. The car was out in force as were officers and other members. McGruff stopped off at several block parties. Because of the strength of our volunteer force this year, we visited the most separate events this past year.
Football Season.
The CPSP success at the July 4th celebration, led to more work, in particular, at FMHS football games. This time the officers were able to focus on the stadium while the patrol worked the parking lot areas. During the course of the season, the patrol interacted with our public, visiting team family members and generally represented our town in a very good light. In one instance Scott Townsend coordinated a vehicle lockout with dispatch for a visiting team parent. Upon opening by the fire department personnel, a litenany of Thanks were voiced by the locked out driver.
New Academy Grads.
There were two academies conducted during the course of the year adding 28 graduates from Class 9 (Spring of 2007) and Class 10 (Fall of 2007). Many of these new graduates have gone on to join our ranks. This new blood is ready to go, joining several committees like the Softball Game and Santa Cops as well as going through CPSP training. A complete listing appears below:
Class 9:
Jennifer Garcia,
Melissa Hammerquist,
Frank Holterhoff,
James (Trey) Johnson,
Jack Lavine,
Walt McGougn,
Howard O'Neal,
Sheria Oswalt,
Scott Peterson,
Kathleen Schmidt, and
Carina Vanlaet
Class 10:
Cheryl Bashore,
Johnathon Bear,
James Blackwell,
Randel Calaway,
Jimmy Cantu,
Dionne Gisele,
Dawn Falk,
Steven Goldston,
Heather Johnson,
Meagan Kennedy,
Don McDaniel,
Joan Quast,
Amy Roche,
Aaron Russell,
Johnathon Swartz,
Gary Walseben, and
Rukiya Woodley
Presidential Change.
It's difficult when an organization loses a good leader, but Carolle Cox was forced to relocate when her husband accepted a new job in Maryland. Carolle was honored for her service via proclamation delivered by Town Council member and FMCPAAA member Laurie Long and then by the department with a letter of thanks from Chief Brooker, presented by Officer Steve Caldwell, then by the FMCPAAA with a plague commemorating her service as President and finally by CERT Team Trinity Leader Scott Townsend with a farewell gift. When a leadership void happens it must be filled quickly and Lowell McCracken stepped up to fill Carolle's shoes and did so admirably.
Softball Game.
In October, the FMCPAAA took the lead on the annual FD/PD softball game. Doug and Pat Graves stepped up to organize this event for the organization. After a tough fundraising effort, the game went off without a hitch. Lowell McCracken was able to secure former Texas Rangers pitcher John Wetteland, who threw out the first pitch and made himself available for autographs for the fans and players alike. For the first time in the history of the game, the PD was the winner handily over the Fire Department.
Dorothy's Dash.
Yet another event wherein the patrol helped the department with manpower. Patrol members were stationed at key areas along the run to ensure runner safety as they traversed the course. The patrol executed this very well and managed to keep both the runners and drivers safe and happy.
Skywatch Tower.
Nicknamed "The Scarecrow", the town procured a skywatch tower which could be used to watch retail parking lots for crimes and criminal activity. Once again, FMCPAAA members stepped up to man this watch tower for the town. It arrived in time to be put into action during the retail holiday season. Randel Callaway has taken responsibility for organizing this effort and has done an outstanding job to date.
Santa Cops.
This effort, masterminded by Officer Steve Caldwell and headed up by Doug and Pat Graves was a monumental success. The team procured and decorated the collection boxes and then assisted in the vetting of the children to ensure there was a definite need. They went on to coordinate the pick up, sorting, wrapping and delivery of the toys and other gifts to the children of need within our time. They were so successful in this effort that they were able to provide additional gifts for the families of Officer Kevin Schmidt and Officer Thomas Cox as well as providing gifts to CCA and the local Starbucks Charity.
Christmas Parade.
The final event of 2007 was the Christmas Parade and the CPSP was again prominently involved. The patrol took charge of virtually all aspects of pre-staging and staging for the parade. This was by far the smoothest year. Had it not been for the delay in arrival of the Town Council float, I daresay things might have been almost perfect. Pat Graves drove the CPSP vehicle with McGruff on board. A highlight of the Parade was that Officer Kevin Schmidt was named as the grand marshall and he and his family rode in a department pickup truck.
Christmas Dinner.
Again this year, Frank and Marsha Gavitt headed the effort to provide holiday meals for the officers on duty during Christmas. They provided a wonderful meal with all the trimmings that the officers could eat during their shift. This annual feast is a great hit with officers and volunteers alike.
McGruff.
Throughout the year, the CPAAA provided guides for the McGruff program. This program which is under the auspice of Officer Steve Caldwell, was directed for the first part of the year by Nanci Brown who then turned over the reins to Melissa Hammerquist. Although members sometimes also play the part of McGruff, this part is most often portrayed by a teenager. Nanci Brown laid the ground work with Teen Court Coordinator Anne Dubinsky to ensure we had a steady stream of teen volunteers who in turn earn service hours for Teen Court or organizations like the National Honor Society. McGruff made a number of appearances throughout the year, ranging from community events, block parties and of course the Open House and National Night Out.
Other.
Throughout the year the FMCPAAA continued to support several legacy commitments such as McGruff guides as well as taking on new commitments such as ferrying new (and old) patrol cars to Royce City, Texas for outfitting by a vendor. These services are invaluable and I know that the both the officers and leadership are thankful for the willingness of the organization to help out in the ancillary, but important tasks.