Happy Holidays!

I hope this finds everyone doing well and enjoying this holiday season. Thanksgiving is over, Hanukkah is in full swing, and Christmas is just a few weeks away. Whether you celebrate these, or other celebrations, enjoy this special time of the year with your family and friends, and look forward with anticipation to what awaits us in the New Year!

I'd like to welcome the following new members to Region 10:

Sp. Agent Kristine Wilson / U.S. Environmental Protection Agency - CID

Det. Lori Reynolds / Fresno P.D.

Lt. Stephanie Shannon / Simi Valley P.D.

I'd also like to thank the following members for renewing their memberships:

Sgt. Penny Kalua / State of Hawaii Sheriff's Office

Officer Mary Hooker / Pasadena P.D.

Captain Alana Forrest / Lost Gatos/Monte Sereno P.D.

The only affiliate in our Region, The Los Angeles Women Police Officers & Affiliates (LAWPOA) have also renewed their affiliate membership.

Congratulations to Region 10 member, Chief Sandra Spagnoli from the Benicia Police Department in California. Sandra has been selected as San Leandro's next Chief of Police and will assume command of the San Leandro Police Department (also in California) on January 10, 2011! Sandra has been Benicia's Police Chief for the past four years, and prior to that, she was with the San Carlos Police Department for 16 years, the last 8 as a Commander. She is also the First Vice President of the California Peace Officers Association (CPOA). Congratulations on your appointment, Chief, and best wishes in this next phase of your law enforcement career!

On looking back through my blogs, I realized that I had failed to post the nomination information of Officer Monica Macdonald from the San Francisco Police Department, who had been nominated for the IAWP Medal of Valor Award in 2010. I had posted the other two Region 10 nominations, but accidentally missed posting Monica's info. Although Monica did not win the Award, just being nominated for one is truly an honor, and I feel it's important to acknowledge the work she had done that got her nominated in the first place. Here is Monica's nomination for the 2010 IAWP Medal of Valor Award:

"On the morning of March 7, 2007, a coldblooded and gruesome murder took place at 785 Brannan Street. Here, Marvin Harris was viciously stabbed numerous times in the face and neck by Rene Robinson. After taking out his rage and fury on Harris, Robinson quickly left to make good his escape, leaving the victim to die in an expanding pool of fresh and congealing blood.

Still armed with two large knives, the enraged suspect encountered two lost citizens in their vehicle around the corner at 7th and Townsend Streets. Robinson, still hyped up from his crazed killing of the victim, attempted to carjack the vehicle. But the individuals in the truck quickly rolled up their windows. Robinson (6 feet tall and 285 pounds) attempted to stab the occupants through the partially open sunroof with the same knives he had just used to kill. Confronted with this horrific event, the occupants were panicked and frozen in justified fear of their lives.

At this time, two aggressive and proactive officers on routine patrol came upon this scene. Not knowing what they were encountering, the two officers (Officer Joseph Salazar and Officer Monica Macdonald) immediately engaged the crazed Robinson. Both officers distinguished themselves by placing their own personal safety in great danger, above and beyond the call of duty, by exiting their vehicle and yelling for the still armed suspect to drop the knives. This action drew the suspect's attention away from the second set of victims and placed his interest squarely now on the two uniformed officers. Instead of dropping the knives, Robinson tried to walk away from the scene. Both officers continued to order Robinson to drop his blood soaked knives.

Robinson then turned and advanced on the two officers with both knives in his hands. Both officers continued to give loud and clear verbal orders to no avail. The officers fired two rounds from their service firearms and terminated the threat. In a last ditch effort to create more carnage, Robinson, before expiring, threw both knives at the officers. Luckily, both knives struck the patrol vehicle and not the officers.

The officers demonstrated outstanding bravery above and beyond that which would be expected in the line of duty. Failure to have taken the actions that they did would not have justified censure. There was significant and immediate risk to both officers' lives, as well as the lives of the two occupants in the vehicle. Robinson had already killed one, and had clearly demonstrated that he would have killed others to get away. As such, the objective of preventing further violence by this person fully justified the risks that the officers took to terminating the threat posed by Robinson.

The actions of the officers meet and exceeds the criteria for the IAWP Medal of Valor. I humbly submit this recommendation for your information and action."

Congratulations once again, Monica! This past year, Monica was also promoted to Sergeant - a very well deserved promotion indeed!

Until next time, stay safe!

WLLE Training Conference and More

On November 8-10, 2010, the 5th Annual Women Leaders in Law Enforcement (WLLE) Training Symposium was held in Pasadena, CA. It was SO good to see so many Region 10 members in attendance! I have attended all 5 of the WLLE training conferences, and I can tell you that it just keeps getting better and better all the time. The 1-1/2 days of training was outstanding, and the connections made at the State level are priceless. This year, 737 law enforcement officers attended this sold out event; two of the sponsorship booths were run by IAWP members - Region 10 member, Valna Wilson with Cambridge Financial Partners, LLC, and Bettina Aschenbrenner with American Military University. (Thanks for your support!)

I encourage everyone to put November 13-15, 2011 on your calendars when the training will be held at the Fairmont Hotel in San Jose (for those not familiar with the WLLE Conferences, they alternate years being held in Northern California and Southern California). It's an investment in your law enforcement future and not something that you should miss. All law enforcement officers are welcome, as are civilian law enforcement employees; it is also not restricted to only those in law enforcement in California -all are welcome.

It never fails to amaze me when I go to trainings like the WLLE Conference how many women have never heard about the IAWP or that we're the oldest women's law enforcement organization in the world, having been in existence since 1915! I'd like to encourage all of you to reach out to other women law enforcement officers that you know and spread the word about the IAWP. Get a list of the women in your own agencies, print off a copy of the IAWP's application form on the organization's website at www.iawp.org, and send it to them with a note encouraging them to join (membership is just $40.00 a year or $70.00 for two years, and is a tax write-off, to boot!). If your agency has a POA or FOP, submit a copy of the membership application to them to print in their publications, encouraging women to join. The networking in the IAWP is priceless and the more we can do to share this important law enforcement resource with other women, the better.

As an incentive for you, anyone who is able to get a woman law enforcement officer to join the IAWP and they give your name as the person who recommended that they join, I'll send you an IAWP Challenge Coin! So, start recruiting and get one of these limited edition coins!

Minneapolis Conference and more!

Greetings one and all! Kudos go out to the Minneapolis Conference Committee on a fantastic conference last month! For those of you who were able to attend, it was great seeing you there. For those who couldn't make it, start making your plans now to go to next year's conference in Lexington, Kentucky, August 21-25, 2011. It's an amazing experience with fantastic training and wonderful opportunities to meet women in law enforcement from around the country and around the world! Check out the IAWP website at www.iawp.org for more details. It's an investment in your law enforcement careers, and is something you really shouldn't miss out on. Plus, don't forget, it's a tax write-off, to boot!

There were 64 countries represented in Minneapolis, including a large contingent from South Africa, which was amazing. The members from the South African Police Service (SAPS) submitted a bid at the Annual General Membership Meeting to host the conference in 2013 in Durbin, which they won! I can tell you from having attended the Spring Board meeting in Paarl, South Africa this past spring, that the SAPS personnel went above and beyond the call of duty in ensuring that we had a successful meeting and an opportunity to see many of the sites in the area. I can only imagine how fantastic a job they will do in hosting the conference, and can't wait to return. As information on their program develops, it will be added onto the IAWP website so keep an eye out for it!

There's still time for you to register for the Calibre Press Street Survival Seminar for Women, which will be held November 3-4, 2010 in Stockton, California. For more information, please contact Candis Smith at 800-323-0037, ext. 4150. The training will be held at the Lexington Plaza Waterfront Hotel at 110 W. Fremont Street, in Stockton and will be hosted by the Stockton Police Department. Contact the hotel directly at 209-944-1140 to reserve your room. Be sure to let them know you're attending the Street Survival training when registering. This is outstanding training; if you haven't had an opportunity to attend one of these trainings before, I HIGHLY recommend it. The Street Survival for Women seminar is the ONLY law enforcement seminar of its kind specifically for female officers, and those who train and manage them. It is constantly being updated to include the most pressing issues faced by women in law enforcement today, and will deliver the tools you need to not only survive on the job, but to EXCEL in your career and in your personal life. You will benefit from this training whether you're brand new on the job, or if you've been working in the business for years, so check it out if you're able to do so.

There's also still time for you to register for the 5th Annual Women Leaders in Law Enforcement (WLLE) Training Symposium that will be held at the Pasadena Convention Center at 300 East Green Street in Pasadena, California, November 8-10, 2010. This has become THE premiere training event in the State, and regularly has several hundred attendees participating in it. The training sessions are always excellent, and the networking opportunities are priceless. It is NOT restricted to those in law enforcement in California, so any law enforcement officers, or civilians working in law enforcement, are most welcome! The hotel block at the Westin Pasadena has been sold out, however, additional rooms have been added at the Sheraton Pasadena, which is adjacent to the Convention Center. Please contact Meredith Hesby at 916-481-8000, or by e-mail at mhesby@californiapolicechiefs.org for more information. In addition, please check out the WLLE website at www.wlle.net, where you can register for the conference and obtain specific details about the program. This training continues to be supported by the California Police Chiefs Association, the California Peace Officers Association, the California Highway Patrol, and the California Sheriff's Association, as it has been since it's inception. This year's training is hosted by the Pasadena Police Department. We'll also be having a short Region meeting on Monday, the 8th, so I hope to be able to see many of you there!

Welcome to new Region 10 member, Lieutenant Christine Orrey from the Hayward Police Department! Glad to have you on board Chris!

I'd also like to welcome the following members back who have renewed:

Lieutenant Donna Hoppenhauer - Oakland Police Department

Lieutenant Nina Jamsen - San Bernadino County Sheriff's Office

Sergeant Bettina Aschenbrenner - retired from the Los Angeles Country Sheriff's Department

Inspector Dolly Casazza - retired from the San Francisco Police Department

Lieutenant Pat Correa - San Francisco Police Department

SAC Julie Hume - California Department of Justice

Please send me any news going on with you or in your Departments that you'd like to share with the Region, including promotions, retirements, trainings, or anything else, to RLM2214A@aol.com, and I'll be happy to include it on the blog.

Region 10 Fall Board Report

Greetings one and all. I am currently in Chicago visiting family before flying up to Minneapolis tomorrow afternoon for the Board of Directors meeting on Friday and Saturday prior to the beginning of the annual conference, and thought that you might like to see what is included in a board report, and what's in my board report for the fall board meeting.

Besides general information on who we are, if we'll be attending the meeting, and what our flight information is, a board report will ask what role in the Strategic Plan we have, and if we have a role, what goal or action owner we are responsible for; we'll also be asked what progress we've made during the period since the past meeting on our goal and actions. In addition, we'll be asked about any proposed and/or future actions towards our goal(s), and any items requiring Board consideration and/or decision.

In the past, most Regional Coordinators would list any and all things that they have worked on or completed during the past time period. What we're now being asked to do is fine tune it more towards the organization's Strategic Plan; we had been asked at the Spring Board meeting to choose a couple of our proposed actions and move forward on those, so, there may have been other things going on, but the focus will only be on those couple of actions. (The organization's Strategic Plan can be accessed on the organization's website at www.iawp.org).

That being said, I am the Goal/Action Owner on category 5.2, "Increasing involvement of wider membership in IAWP business; invite members to contribute to the Strategic Plan utilizing their skills, experience and abilities." I have flagged under that, however, that getting new members to join and old members to renew were critical, and if they don't want to renew, why? We must have that information first to get them involved later, and to learn what the issues might be if they aren't renewing.

Under Progress this Period on Goals/Actions:

1. Obtained list of Region 10 members whose memberships have expired from 2007 to the present, and have contacted all who have e-mail addresses, advising them that their memberships have expired, and providing them with the IAWP website so they can renew online (or they can print off the renewal form and renew that way).

2. All Region 10 members from 2007 to the present who do not have an e-mail address, will be contacted in writing to advise them their membership has expired, and to provide them information on how to renew (i.e. IAWP website and membership form in magazine). To be completed by the end of September.

3. Created Region 10 blog and am using that to outreach to the Region; attempting to blog weekly or biweekly, but no less than once a month, at a minimum. The amount of blogs have been dependent on how much news is available to share.

4. I am beginning to obtain contact and bio information from Region members who are trainers to be able to share with other Region members who may be looking for a trainer for their departments or affiliates. Depending on response, it may be able to be developed into a resource for all IAWP members (the organization use to have a Speaker's Bureau; this might become a starting point to develop that again).

5. The filming of the DVD project with Sharon Gless is on hold until probably February of 2011 due to her filming schedule back East. Contact with Shirley Tatum has been made concerning information she needs, and a time table for receiving it, so she can begin the script writing portion of the project.

Proposed and/or Future Actions Towards Goal(s):

1. Host a Regional training in Maui, Hawaii in May or June of 2011 in hopes of encouraging women in law enforcement on the Hawaiian Islands to attend, as well as others from the Region, to not only receive training, but to learn about, and hopefully join, the IAWP (and for those already members to become more involved).

2. Continue working with staff at the Sheraton Resort on Maui to develop an acceptable program that is affordable, so that a contract can be signed and the training can be held. Targeting the end of 2010 to determine if it will be feasible to do.

3. Went to the Sheraton Resort on Maui with former 2nd Vice President Lynette Hogue and met with staff there, who provided us with a tour of the facility and hosted us for two of the four nights we stayed there so that we could get a true feel for the facility, and to see if it would be a good fit for a Regional training (it IS!)

4. Will post information on the Region blog about the DVD project with Sharon Gless, and to encourage members to submit information to be considered for inclusion in the project. Posting to be completed by the end of September.

5. Will be contacting a friend in the film industry by the end of the year to discuss the possibility of his being able to provide access to a film studio for the narration of the DVD by Sharon Gless in early 2011.

Items Requiring Board Consideration and/or Decision:

1. Would like to see Policy 10 (the Conference Policy) updated to mandate that beginning with the 2013 Conference, that neither Conference Directors, nor their Committee members, who use conference funds for personal travel to promote their Conferences, including, but not limited to, hotel rooms, meals, registration fees, and transportation. (A motion will be presented on this issue).

2. Would like to see a standardized financial program provided to Conference Directors for reporting their income and expenditures from their conference so that everyone is clear on what needs to be provided, and the same format will be used by all Conference Directors in the future.

3. Would like to see a standardized program provided to Conference Directors for their final report, including, but not limited to, what worked, what didn't, and any suggestions on how things could have worked better, to ensure the same format is used by all future Conference Directors and that the required information is provided.

4. Would like to see a policy or guideline set up that addresses Regional Coordinators providing trainings in their Regions. Issues to look at include how registration fees are to be paid (should checks be made out to the IAWP, the IAWP Foundation, or a separate checking account set up, as is done for annual training conferences); in addition, if the Regional Coordinator is provided a Regional training in support of the IAWP, should the IAWP provide financial support to that training; i.e. some sort of start-up costs, as are done with the annual conference? (A motion will be presented on this issue).

5. Requesting funds for the IAWP to be a sponsor at the 5th Annual Women Leaders in Law Enforcement Conference that will be held November 8-10, 2010 in Pasadena, CA. (A motion will be presented on this issue).

Save travels to any of you coming to Minneapolis. Our Regional meeting will be held on Tuesday, September 28th from 1700-1830 hrs. (it probably won't go THAT long), and the Annual General Membership (AGM) meeting will be held on Wednesday, September 29th from 1700-1830 hrs. Check your conference information you receive there for the location of the meetings. Hope to see you there!

Congratulations are in order . . .

Greetings! A big congratulations goes out to Region 10 member, Detective Deborah Gonzales from the Los Angeles Police Department. Deborah recently received her Doctorate of Education in Organizational Change from Pepperdine University. Awesome job, Deborah; what an accomplishment! Deborah is also the President of the IAWP Affiliate, the Los Angeles Women Police Officers and Associates (LAWPOA). Check out their website when you get a chance, which can be accessed from the IAWP website at www.iawp.org.

Speaking of LAPD, welcome to new member, Lieutenant Chris Waters. Glad to have you as part of the organization and the Region, Chris!

Renewals this past month include the following:

A/Chief Darcy Olmos - U.S. Border Patrol

Retired Chief Lucy Carlton - Los Altos Police Department

Sergeant Rhonda Wood - Irvine Police Department

Sergeant Theresa Dawson - Los Angeles County Sheriff's Office

Sergeant Andrea Salas - Sonoma County Sheriff's Office

Officer Marquita Booth - San Francisco Police Department

Lieutenant Heidi Howe - Washoe County Sheriff's Office

Welcome back one and all!

As you may have read in past issues of Women Police magazine, former 2nd Vice President and Region 10 member, Lynette Hogue, has been working on putting together a DVD project on the history of women in law enforcement in the IAWP. The DVD will be narrated by Actress Sharon Gless (many of you will remember Sharon, who played Detective Christine Cagney in the hit show, Cagney and Lacey), who will be volunteering her time to be a part of this project. Lynette is still looking for people to send her information about "firsts" of women in their Departments, and would love to have members from Region 10 send her information. Interviews of either yourself, or of other members in law enforcement would also be most welcome. Questions to ask during interviews should include who you are, what Department you work for, and how long you have worked for them; what is the most positive experience you've experienced in your career; what is the most negative thing you've experienced in your career, if any; how did you become involved with the IAWP; and why do you continue to be involved with the IAWP. Interviews should be taped on mini DVD's, if possible. Send me an e-mail at RLM2214A@aol.com if you'd like to send Lynette either an interview tape or any other information for possible inclusion in the project, and, I'll give you the information on where to send it. Thanks! The more information received, the better!

There's still time to register for the Conference in Minneapolis, though it will be here in just a couple of weeks now. Go onto the IAWP website (listed above) and click on the Minnesota Conference for everything you need to know about this outstanding training. Hope to see many of you there! (And don't forget; it's a tax write-off, to boot!)

Until next time, stay safe!

A Teaser for you and more!

Greetings one and all! I've been talking a bit about hoping to host a Region training at the Sheraton in Ka anapali in Lahaina, Maui in May or early June next year, and thought I'd give you a glimpse at what the Resort looks like as a little teaser for you . . .

It IS as nice as it looks and then some, I can assure you, and would be a WONDERFUL place to host a training! As I continue to negotiate with the Sheraton, let me know what kind of training you might like to see. If it works out, we're anticipating having a late afternoon or early evening icebreaker event the night before the training, followed by either a one day training with a luncheon, or a day and a half to two days training. We'll see how it all plays out. I CAN tell you that whatever rate is negotiated, it will be good for 3 days before the training and 3 days after the training to make it easier for you to come early or stay late and make a vacation out of it, besides getting a tax write-off to boot! More to come . . .

There's still time to make arrangements to come to the Conference in Minneapolis this month. The training is always outstanding, and the networking that you'll be able to do with women in law enforcement from around the country and around the world is priceless. Hope to see many of you there! For those who aren't attending, and even for those who are, if you have anything you'd like me to bring before the Board during our meeting prior to the start of the conference, please let me know and I'll be happy to address it. I leave on September 18th to visit family in Chicago prior to flying up to Minneapolis, so anything you want me to address will need to get to me absolutely no later than Friday, September 17th. Thanks!

And now, here's the second Region 10 nominee who was nominated for one of the IAWP Officer-of-the Year Awards this year - Officer Maria Oropeza from the San Francisco Police Department for the Community Services Award. Although she did not win the Award, I thought it was important to share the nomination with you to see the outstanding work that she did:

"The IAWP Community Services Award is to be awarded to an officer who "distinguishes herself by superior accomplishments through developing, designing, implementing and participating in programs involving communities, which include neighborhoods, school, community meetings, and businesses." As soon as I read the criteria for this Award, Officer Maria Oropeza from the San Francisco Police Department come to mind. She not only fits the criteria for this Award, I believe she exceeds it, and it is my distinct honor to nominate her this year for the IAWP Community Services Award.

Bio: Officer Maria Oropeza wanted to be a police officer all of her life. She had the opportunity to fulfill that dream by becoming a member of the San Francisco Police Department in July of 1984. Maria has been a member of the Department for 26 years, and has the reputation of being a hard working officer with a very high work ethic, who is respected by her peers and supervisors alike. Maria worked a number of years in patrol before spending 8 very successful years in the Department's Narcotics Bureau. Following her work in Narcotics, Maria spent 4 years working Media Relations, before being transferred to the Police Academy, where she has worked for the past 3-1/2 years.

Narrative: Officer Maria Oropeza has excelled in every position she has worked in the Department; however, her transfer to the Police Academy and her ongoing work with the community has truly made her a shining star. While at the Academy, Maria completely revamped the Department's Advanced Officer Training program, which is a mandatory training that all officers, Sergeants and Inspectors in the Department must participate in every two years. The training included important legal updates, CPR re-certification, shooting and driving simulations, First Aid, hands on tactics, case reviews, and a host of other topics relevant to their jobs. Tracking members over the years to ensure compliance has always been problematic, and those mandated to attend would often "slip through the cracks" either unintentionally, or by members doing whatever they could do to avoid attending the week long training at the Academy.

Maria was able to develop a successful tracking system to ensure that all who were mandated to attend the training did so, and was able to have members who did not comply with the training be subject to the same disciplinary process as would occur if someone missed a range re-qualification date. Developing a tracking system, along with making dramatic changes to the training provided; ensuring that the training was fresh, relevant, and current, made going to "A.O." fun again and has virtually resulted in 100% compliance since the program went into effect. It has also effectively closed a window to potential lawsuits against the Department because of non-compliance of certain training.

Along with her work with the Advanced Officer training program, Maria spent time reviewing all aspects of the Academy's requirements under the State's Police Officer's Standards (POST) and made a number of updates and changes to ensure that the Academy remained in compliance with POST's regulations.

Maria's involvement, however, with the Department's Community Police Academy, has been a crowning achievement for her. The Community Police Academy program is designed to inform and teach various aspects of municipal policing to the community. The 10 week program covers procedures from patrol and investigations, vehicle operations, arrest and control techniques, firearm procedures and communications / 911. The program's goals are to develop community awareness through education, and develop a closer understanding and working relationship between the San Francisco Police Department and communities served.

Maria is the program coordinator for the Community Police Academy and runs all aspects of the program. Participants in the program must be a minimum of 15 years of age (those 15 to 18 years of age must have parental permission to participate), must live or work in San Francisco, must have no felony convictions, must have no misdemeanor convictions within one year of application to the program, must be currently enrolled in school, or have a high school diploma, or possess a G.E.D. (General Education Diploma), and are expected to attend all 10 weeks of classes provided. Classes can have up to 25 people in them, and Maria screens all the applications for participation in the program, and then runs the classes in the evenings after completing her regular work shift.

This program has been so successful since Maria took it over, that she decided she wanted to outreach into the community further, bringing the program out into the community for those who were not able to physically get to the Academy. Maria then developed a 4 day mini Community Police Academy in the predominant Hispanic community of the Mission District. Maria, who is fluent in Spanish, taught the training twice a year, focusing on gang awareness and drugs, which are two big problems occurring in that community. The program was so successful that she is now hoping to be able to expand the 4 day mini Academy into the Chinese community, as well.

Two years ago, Maria began a Youth Community Academy for high school students. Interest was generated by Maria sending out flyers to the high schools in the community and sending letters out to the schools through officers working at the schools. The first class brought 13 students together, and was so successful, that two of those attending immediately joined the PAL (Police Activities League) and are now interested in pursuing a career in law enforcement. Four to five classes are now held annually and continue to be quite successful with Maria leading the way as a role model for these motivated young people.

Maria also runs an Alumni Community Police Academy, which are held every two to three months, and whose participants are graduates from prior Community Police Academies that she has run. She will generally let the participants choose a topic they want to learn more about, and will then provide them with that training. Presentations usually run 2-1/2 to 3 hours and training has covered topics such as gang awareness, first aid, drug awareness, community policing, FATS, and EVOC. Maria has also arranged ride alongs, station tours and SWAT presentations for the participants, all of which are extremely popular.

Maria is also very involved in volunteer work and has been active in volunteering for well over 20 years. She regularly volunteers for the American Cancer Society, driving cancer patients on a weekly basis to their chemo treatments. As Maria is a cancer survivor herself, she well knows how lonely and frightening going to treatments can be, and gives these brave patients hope that they, too, can survive and live productive lives after cancer.

For the past few years, Maria has been involved in the Princess Project, which provides prom dresses and an accessory to underprivileged girls, so that they, too, may have the joy of going to their prom. She regularly volunteers for Habitat for Humanity, where she provides Spanish translation services and translates paperwork from English to Spanish for them, and has plans to volunteer more extensively with them building houses once she retires from the Department in a few years.

Maria also volunteers at Project Open Hand, delivering hot meals to AIDS patients in their homes, and is active in the annual Firefighter's Toy Program, collecting toys for their toy drive at the holidays to to give to children who might not otherwise have a Christmas. This past year, Maria has also adopted ten families through a Bernal Heights Neighborhood Community Group, ensuring that these families had food and toys and were able to enjoy the holidays. She anticipates that the numbers of families supported in 2010 will increase as the neighborhood group continues to provide her with names of families in need, and she tells me that she willingly takes on the challenge to ensure that no one will go without at the holidays.

If that wasn't enough, Maria was the first female President of the Latino Peace Officers Association (LPOA), San Francisco Metro Chapter, for 2 years in 2006 and 2007, and is still very active in the organization, hosting an annual dance as a fundraiser for the organization's scholarship fund, which provides seven, $1,000 scholarships annually to seniors in high school as they prepare to go to college. Maria runs that organization's annual toy drive at the holidays, as well as works with immigrant women, providing job training for them. In addition, for the past 6 years, Maria has worked with another local women's organization, and runs a toy drive for them at the holidays, providing toys for the kids, and Safeway store gift cards for the mothers. In 2009, 5,000 toys were donated for 200 kids - quite an accomplishment!

Officer Maria Oropeza exemplifies what the Community Services Award is all about, and it is my honor to provide her name and accomplishments for consideration for this year's IAWP Community Services Award."

Awesome job, Maria!

Until next time, stay safe, and feel free to send me information to include on the blog, as this is for all of you.

Welcome and More . . .

I'd like to welcome the following new IAWP members to Region 10:

Lieutenant Chris Watters - Los Angeles Police Department
Officer Mari Noguchi - San Francisco Police Department

And the following members who have renewed their membership:

A/Chief Darcy Olmos - U.S. Border Patrol
Retired Officer Lucy Carlton - Los Altos Police Department
Sergeant Rhonda Wood - Irvine Police Department
Sergeant Theresa Dawson - Los Angeles County Sheriff's Office
Sergeant Andrea Salas - Sonoma County Sheriff's Office
Officer Marquita Booth - San Francisco Police Department
Sergeant Stefani Gombar - Phoenix Police Department
Officer Sergeant Lisa Frazer - San Francisco Police Department
Retired Agent Michelle Williams - San Diego Police Department
Chief Sandra Spagnoli - Benicia Police Department
Officer Jennifer Thompson - San Francisco Police Department
LEA Sheila Quaills - CBP Office of Air & Marine
Officer Lois Perillo - San Francisco Police Department - LIFE member

A very warm welcome to one and all!

I'd like to extend my condolences to the San Francisco Police Department and the Region on losing one of our own last month - Officer John Mulkern - who died at the age of 50 from a massive heart attack. John had been battling some health problems for awhile, and his death was a hard pill for us to swallow for those who knew and loved him; he had just retired on a medical disability a few days before he died. For those of you who attended the IAWP Conference in San Francisco in 2003, you may remember John has the big, happy-go-lucky Irishman who was one of our volunteer drivers to the Night Tour at Alcatraz, and who helped out throughtout the week wherever he was needed. He was so impressed with the Conference and the delegates he met that he wanted to become more involved, so he joined the organization, and had been an active member to the day he died.

Region 10 member, Sergeant Judy Riggle, from the San Francisco Police Department contacted me following John's funeral (there was a service for him in San Francisco, and then he was flown back to Boston, where there was a service for his family and friends there, before being buried in Boston). Judy told me that John's brother and one of his sister's contacted her following the Boston service, and told her that the Boston Police Department and the State Troopers had been absolutely awesome. Not only were they there to support a fellow officer and his family, they went above and beyond the call of duty by literally closing down the Turnpike for a couple of hours and escorting them everywhere. A BIG thank you to our brother and sister officers in Boston who gave John a very fitting send off! It was very much appreciated.

In my last blog, I spoke about officers from our Region being nominated for three different Officer-of-the-Year Awards. Although none of the officers won this year's award, I'd like to share one of those with you in this blog - Officer Ally Jacobs and Event Manager Lisa Campbell from the University California Police Department in Berkeley. (The others will be shared in future blogs). You may remember hearing about the well known Jaycee Dugard kidnapping case. Ally and Lisa were the two who broke the case open, which resulted in Jaycee and her two daughters being rescued. Here's their nomination for the 2010 Excellence in Performance Award:

INTRODUCTION -

On August 24, 2009, the end of an 18 year nightmare came true for Jaycee Dugard, who had been kidnapped outside her South Tahoe home, at age 11, while waiting for the school bus. During those 18 years, she was held in a sound proof tent in the back yard of a convicted felon on parole for previous rape convictions; she was kept hundreds of miles from her family. She had to endure a couple's horrific treatment, repeated sexual assaults and the birth of two girls fathered by her captor. Because of the excellent work by UC Berkeley Police Officer Ally Jacobs and Event Manager Lisa Campbell, Jaycee and her daughters now have a chance to regain their lives and be reunited with Jacee's family; and two criminals face spending the rest of their lives in prison.

The NARRATIVE -

On August 23, 2009, a man and two young girls walked into the University of California at Berkeley Office of Special Events in an attempt to get a permit for what the man called "God's Desire." He bragged that the event would be big and the government was involved. He made contact with Events Manager Lisa Campbell. At the time, the man had no idea that Lisa was a former Chicago and Cook County Police Officer and was reading his body language and Campbell felt something was "just not right" with the man and the two girls. The man's behavior seemed erratic to Campbell adn the girls were sullen and submissive. Lisa, who was preparing for another appointment, got the man's name and asked that he return at 2 p.m. the following day. She made a point to come across as professional and accommodating so he would return the next day.

Lisa listened to her training and experience and contacted UC Berkeley Police Officer Ally Jacobs and explained her concerns. Jacobs ran a background check on Garrido and discovered that he was a registered sex offender on federal parole for kidnapping and rape. She made a point to sit in with Campbell when the man returned for his appointment, promptly at 2 and luckily, he brought the two girls back with him.

Officer Jacobs also used her training and experience, as both an officer and a mother, to observe the girl's behavior and their interactions with Garrido. She found them to be pale, almost gray, as if they hadn't had much exposure to the sun. The 15 year old stood in a peculiar position - stiffly, with her hands on the front of her legs, looking up, while the 11 year old was staring at Jacobs with pale, bright blue eyes.

Officer Jacobs stated that the girls unnerved her as they seemed programmed; almost like "Little House on the Prairie meets robots." The younger of the two girls was staring at her with her pale, bright blue eyes. Both girls appeared emotionally and physically detached from Garrido.

The two UCPD employees attempted to engage the girls, asking questions that might help them get a read on the situation without alarming the man. What were their names? Why weren't they in school? What grades were they in? The girls mumbled odd names in reply and said that they were home schooled. As Campbell listened to their answers, she recognized that their responses about their grade levels weren't consistent.

The 11 year old was asked about a bump near one eye and she quickly answered that it was a birth defect. Jacob felt her response was rehearsed and she was taken aback by her response.

The man was talking in a disorganized way, and offered up a booklet he'd written, titled "Origin of Schizophrenia Revealed." He volunteered that 33 years ago he was convicted of kidnapping and rape, but now he was "doing God's work." At one point he grabbed hold of the older girl, saying, "They're great girls. The don't even know any curse words!" When he bragged about them, Jacobs observed the girl looked stiff and both girls seemed fearful of any reaction that would displease their father.

Jacobs did not have a basis on which to make an arrest. But her interview training and her observations of their body language and her senses were telling her something was definitely wrong with their interaction and more needed to be learned about the man and the young girls. Her follow-up would prove to be a true life saver. Officer Jacobs left a voice mail for his parole officer recommending that he check up on him and the girls. When she returned to work Wednesday morning, she talked with the parole officer, who seemed surprised to hear about the girls. The parole officer reported that he didn't have any daughters and one of his restrictions ws that he could not be around young girls.

Officer Jacobs said "my heart dropped, these are kidnapped kids!" Jacobs recalls thinking. It wasn't until driving home that night that she heard from the parole officer that the man had come into the office with his "family" and law enforcement discovered that Jaycee Dugard was in their midst. Jacobs and Campbell celebrated with the rest of us the news of the man and his wife, resulting in the freedom of Jaycee Dugard after 18 years in captivity.

A search warrant was served on the suspect's residence; the couple was arrested and charged wiht Kidnapping, Rape, and False Imprisonment. The man has a $30 MILLION bail and a no-bail parole hold. The wife's bail is $20 MILLION.

It is due to the quick actions, and a reliance on a career of training and attention to the little details that has led to the capture of two very dangerous people and the recovery of a woman and her two girls. The skills put to use during the inital encounter with the man and Jaycee's daughters led to this case being solved. From the initial contact, to the interview where things did not add up, to the non-verbal language Jacobs and Campbell watched and interpreted correctly and finally to the follow up with phone calls and database checks, these two female officers created the lead that brought about the arrests of two dangerous suspects and the new life for Jaycee and her daughters.

UC Berkeley Chancellor Robert Birgeneau commended the two officers and the UC Police Department for "exemplary" work. "Officer Ally Jacobs and Police Specialist Lisa Campbell displayed the intelligence, training, and professional intutition that are required of the best in police work," he said. "This week that commitment resulted in a breakthrough in an 18 year old kidnapping, and more importantly, it provided the opportunity for two children and their mother to live a new life, one that we all hope will bring them a full measure of happiness."

As the story began to unfold, "I couldn't believe I was part of something so big," Jacobs says. "People are saying I was a hero. I don't accept that. I was just doing my job."

When asked how she felt about the life changing incident Lisa Campell stated, "I'm just grateful to have had an impact and it's a relief that those kids now have a chance for a life."

Alert actions by two members of the UC Berkeley police force played a key role in events that led up to the arrest of the kidnapping and rape suspect and the safe return of Jaycee Lee Dugard, who in 1991 at age 11, was abducted from her South Lake Tahoe neighborhood. Officer Jacobs and Lisa Campbell's professional observations and actions also saved the lives of two young girls who now have a chance at a normal life.

Awesome, stuff, huh?

Until next time, stay safe and pay attention to your intuitions; if something doesn't seem right, it's likely that it isn't.

News from the Region

Greetings one and all. I hope everyone has been enjoying their summer and was able to get at least a little bit of time off to play with family and friends! I find it hard to believe that this week, it's going to be September already. Talk about time flying!!

There were no new Region 10 members this past month; however, I DO have to make a correction to one of my blog entries. Apparently, I was doing my best to promote one of our new members, and I listed Andrea Arreola from the San Diego County Sheriff's Department as the SHERIFF and not a Lieutenant!! Sorry about that, Andrea! That would have been QUITE a promotion, eh? Let it not be said that I'm not here for my Region members!

Good news for Region 10 member, Ellen Kirschman, Ph.D. Many of you may know Ellen from her outstanding book, "I Love a Cop: What Police Families Need to Know" (she is also the author of the book, "I Love a Fire Fighter: What the Family Needs to Know"). If you haven't read "I Love a Cop," I strongly advise you to pick it up and read it, then share it with your families. It's very powerful stuff, and will be a beneficial read whether you're new to the job, or whether you have been a veteran for years; it is especially important for your families to read. I just learned that Ellen has received The Americal Psychological Association - Division 18 (Police and Public Safety) 2010 award for outstanding contribution to police and public safety psychology! Congratulations, Ellen. You deserve it! To learn more about Ellen and the work she does, check out her website at www.ellenkirschman.com.

Last week, I received an e-mail from Region 10 member, Susan Baldwin, who is a retired Special Agent, who provided me with information on trainings that she does through her company, Personal Protection Institute in Tempe, Arizona, which I have forwarded onto you. I wanted to encourage any of you who are trainers to write up some information about who you are, what your training specialty is, and how to contact you, and I'll be happy to forward that information onto the Region for you. You never know when one of us might be looking for a trainer, and what better way to help get the word out about some available trainers than by doing so through our Region.

I'd also like to let you know that my stay at the Sheraton Maui Resort & Spa in Ka anapali, Lahaina a couple of weeks ago was quite impressive. Former IAWP 2nd Vice President, Lynette Hogue, and I met with the sales manager there, who spent alot of time with us showing us around the facility and beginning the first stages of discussions on whether it might be feasible for us to bring a Region 10 training there in May or June of next year. We'll see how it plays out, but I can tell you they were very keen on having us there, and are willing to work with us to do what it takes to make it happen. I'll keep everyone posted as discussions continue. I'd love to get your feedback as to whether you might be interested in a day or day and a half training there; whatever rate we're able to negotiate, which I suspect may likely be the current government rate of $169.00, will be good for 3 days before and 3 days after the training, so it will enable people to extend their trip out a few days and make it into a vacation with their families, as well as a training, which will be a tax write-off, to boot! More to come . . .

I'd like to congratulate the following officers on their nominations for IAWP's Officer-of-the-Year Awards this year. Although none of them won, I can tell you that just being nominated for one of these international awards is quite an honor. Congratulations go out to:

Officer Ally Jacobs and Event Manager Lisa Campbell, University of California Police Department, Berkeley - Excellence in Performance Award

Officer Maria Oropeza, San Francisco Police Department - Community Service Award

Officer Monica Macdonald, San Francisco Police Department - Medal of Valor

I'll include the texts of their nominations in future blogs, so you can be as impressed and proud of them as I am. Hopefully, we'll have even more nominations for the awards next year! Start keeping your ears open now for outstanding police work occurring in your Departments (go to the IAWP website at www.iawp.org for all award criteria), and maybe one of our Region members will be a winner next year!

Finally, there's still time to register for this year's Annual Training Conference that will be held next month in Minneapolis. Check out the IAWP website for details. They've got quite an impressive training schedule lined up and should be an outstanding experience. Hope to see many of you there.

FYI, I'll be attending the Board of Directors meeting prior to the beginning of the conference, so if anyone has any issues or concerns that you would like me to bring forward, please let me know as soon as possible.

Until my next blog, stay safe!

This and That

Greetings! Since my last blog, I was advised by Region 10 member, Laura Molinaro from the Prescott Valley Police Department in Prescott, Arizona, that she has retired from law enforcement as of May 21st! Laura was a Commander with her Department and served with them for nearly 23 years. She was the first female officer, and their longest tenured employee. To read a couple of great articles about Laura's retirement written by the Prescott Valley Tribune, check out these websites: http://www.pvtrib.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&subsectionID=1&articleID=51990 and http://www.pvtrib.com/main.asp?SectionID=36&subsectionID=765&articleID=51984. Congratulations, Laura! Enjoy your well deserved retirement!

News from Hawaii . . .

In the most recent issue of the Journal, which is the Police Officer Association's monthly union newspaper for the San Francisco Police Department, there was a short article from Tommy Aiu on behalf of The Hawaii Law Enforcement Memorial Foundation that I thought I'd share with you.

"I am pleased to announce the launch of The Hawaii Law Enforcement Memorial Foundation website (www.hlemf.org or www.hlemf.com). This website, now several months in development, underscores the Foundation's mission (the planning and development of the Memorial), board management, House Concurrrent Resolution 139 (which provides for land on the state capitol), methods to donate, the generous SHOPO donation, and the Foundation's primary fundraising event.

Most important, the website honors Hawaii's officers from all branches of law enforcement, who died in the line of duty. This site will be a virtual tribute to our fallen while the Foundation continues to develop the Memorial.

While the website highlights the planning and eventual construction of the Memorial, it is also a site dedicated to the daily sacrifice made by every law enforcement officer in the State of Hawaii, past and present. This is "our" collective website.

To that end, please take a moment to visit the website (www.hlemf.org) and forward to all agency heads and respective command staff, all sworn personnel, co-workers, retired personnel, families of fallen officers, and law enforcement support groups. Our goal is to make the site available to as many of our fellow officers/agents, families and friends, as possible.

Lastly, please send us feedback for improvement via info@hlemf.com or to my email address (hawaii1811@yahoo.com).

Mahalo to those who provided testimony in support of HCR 139 and all of you who continue to support our collective cause.

Aloha,

Tommy Aiu on behalf of The Hawaii Law Enforcement Memorial Foundation"

Good luck on your undertaking, Tommy! If any of our Hawaii members are able to give Tommy feedback on the website, or help him spread the word about the Foundation, I'm sure he would greatly appreciate it.

Speaking of Hawaii, former IAWP 2nd Vice President, Lynette Hogue, and I will be travelling to Hawaii this coming week to visit friends in Kona on the Big Island for several days, followed by a trip to Maui the following week. While in Maui, we will be meeting with a representative from the Sheraton Resort in Kaanapali, who I met in Seattle on my way to the Final Banquet at the end of Seattle's conference last year. We discussed the IAWP a bit, and then I told her that I was the Region Coordinator for 5 states, including Hawaii, and that at some point in time, I would love to be able to have a Region meeting/training in Hawaii, as a number of Region members have approached me in the past and expressed an interest in wanting to do that. That conversation immediately resulted in a business card exchange and a promise from her to touch base with me again when it got closer to the time of my trip to Maui.

True to her word, she contacted me earlier this month. To make a long story short, she has graciously offered to host us at the Sheraton for two days of our visit there so that she can show us around the Resort and we can experience first hand all that the Sheraton has to offer! I, of COURSE, accepted! We'll see what develops from that meeting, and see if it would be financially feasible to host a Region meeting/training there. I'll, of course, keep everyone posted on any developments with that which might occur. We do not have alot of IAWP members in Hawaii, and this would be a fantastic way to be able to outreach to them, not only by providing some good, quality training, but also to introduce them to the IAWP. We'll see how it plays out.

In the meantime, I would love to hear everyone's feedback on how you would feel about doing a Region meeting/training in Maui, POSSIBLY sometime next year, and what type of training you might be interested in seeing there. I envision probably a one day training with a luncheon, though two days MIGHT be a possibility if the interest is there and the cost is reasonable. If it WERE to occur, I will ensure that it does not conflict with either the IAWP Annual Conference in Lexington, Kentucky, the IAWP Spring Board meeting, or any Region affiliate trainings (affiliates, PLEASE let me know if you have any upcoming trainings planned for next year ASAP, so I'll have a better idea on what kind of timeframe we might be looking at - you should let me know about those trainings anyway, so I can get the information up on the blog to help you get the word out on them; ditto for your websites).

Until next time, stay safe, and don't forget to please send me any information that you'd like to see shared on the blog to RLM2214A@aol.com.

2010 Welcomes and More

Greetings one and all! Below I'd like to welcome those new Region 10 members who have joined the organization from January through July 2010:

Inspector Cheryl Brasil - Alameda County D.A.'s Office
Officer Julianne Burke - California Highway Patrol
Officer Shellie Clark - Las Vegas Metro Police Department
Officer Jamie Contes - Arizona Department of Public Safety
Sergeant Gabriel Gallaread - San Francisco Police Department
Officer Sofia Gallegos - Los Angeles Airport Police Department
Officer Janira Gonzalez -USMC Police Department
Sp. Probation Officer Martha Guillen - San Bernadino County Probation Department
Sergeant Martha Hall - Los Angeles Airport Police Department
Commander Maria Heffington - Salinas Police Department
Ms. Ellen Kirschman - Psychologist/Author - Redwood City
Officer Robin Leland - CSU Monterey Bay Police Department
Officer Onishia Niland - Casa Grande Police Department
Officer Yasmine Samalya - Amtrak Police Department
D/Sheriff Kerry Saulnier - Washoe County Sheriff's Office
Officer Patricia Tafoya-Bryson - San Bernadino County Community Police
Officer Lucia Wade - Santa Rosa Police Department
Officr Kimberly Wadsworth - North Las Vegas Police Department
Officer Trishell Young-Orth - Milpitas Police Department

I'm happy to welcome you all to Region 10! If I've missed acknowledging anyone, please let me know! I've added you all into my Address Book for the Region, so you should soon be receiving training and officer safety information as I receive it, which I send out on a regular basis. I will also send e-mails out when I update this blog, so you are able to access that information quickly, as well. I encourage you all (and all of the rest of you reading this blog) to please forward me any information you would like for me to share, and especially information regarding officer safety and upcoming trainings in your areas, and I'll be happy to pass that on for you. If, for some reason, you are NOT receiving e-mails from me, that means I do NOT have a current e-mail address for you or one was not provided when you sent in your membership. Send me an e-mail to RLM2214A@aol.com, and I'll be happy to update my records, as I don't want you to miss out on any information being shared.

The notifications I'm not receiving anymore for 2010 are those members who have renewed their memberships, so for those of you who have done so in 2010, thank you! I'm currently working with Wendy Wilson, the IAWP Membership Chair, so that I am able to be advised about new members as they join and not several months after the fact. It's still a work in progress, but that's the goal, as I'm well aware that many of you may have been members already for several months, and the notification about this blog will be the first contact you have had with me.

Wendy has also forwarded me is a list of Inactive members from late 2007 through February 2010 (thus far). I will begin working on contacting those of you who are on that list that have e-mail addresses listed so that you will have an opportunity to renew your memberships before Wendy completely removes you from her mailing list, which she anticipates doing this next month. I will also be removing you from my Address Book for the Region at that time, so if you suddenly find that you are not receiving e-mails from me or not receiving the Women Police Magazine, that is what has occurred. You can easily renew your membership online by going to the IAWP website at www.iawp.org. If you'd prefer renewing by mail, you can print the form off of the website and can mail it in instead of doing the transaction online.

If, for some reason, you are making the decision NOT to renew your membership with the IAWP, please contact me to let me know why you are choosing not to continue your membership. I feel that is important information to know for our continued Strategic Planning of the organization, and if there are any improvements that we can do that would encourage you to stay members of the IAWP, or changes that you would like to see happen, I would like very much to hear about it. Thanks!

I would like to extend my congratulations to Supp. Special Agent Ester O'Keefe from the California Department of Justice on her retirement this past December 30, 2009! Ester spent 22 years with the DOJ and another 8 years with the Fresno Police Department prior to working with the DOJ. Congratulations on a wonderful career, Ester! Enjoy your retirement!

I'd also like to congratulate former IAWP 2nd Vice President and former Region 10 Coordinator, Lieutenant Lynette Hogue, who retired from the San Francisco Police Department on October 23, 2009 after spending over 28 years with the Department. Lynette worked in many different stations and units in the Department and excelled everywhere she went. I can tell you from also working in the SFPD, that she is sorely missed! Enjoy your retirement, Lynette; you deserve it. I won't be too far behind you!

Finally, I'd also like to congratulate Chief Susan Jones from the Healdsburg Police Department, who also just retired from her Department (sorry, Chief; I'm not sure what your final date was). Chief Jones has been a fixture in the San Francisco Bay Area for many years, and many of you who have attended past Women Leaders in Law Enforcement (WLLE) Conferences in California over the past several years have had an opportunity to meet her. Word has it she will continue to be involved with WLLE; check out the conference website at www.wlle.net for information on this year's conference in November in Pasadena, California, where you'll undoubtedly be able to connect with Susan there.

Unfortunately, I also have some sad news to report, as well. Region 10 member, Officer John Mulkern, from the San Francisco Police Department died today of a massive heart attack. I've had the privilege of knowing John for years and had an opportunity to work with him at one of our District Stations for a number of years. He has always been a supporter of women in law enforcement, and was one of our volunteers when the San Francisco Police Department hosted the IAWP Conference in 2003. After getting a chance to experience that, John joined the IAWP, wanting to be a part of something so special. He will truly be missed.

Finally, for any of you who will be in the San Francisco Bay Area on August 11th, I'd like to encourage you to participate in the 6th Annual Law Enforcement Appreciation Night at AT&T Park, where the S.F. Giants will host the Chicago Cubs at 1910 hrs. Pre-game home plate Ceremonies will include a Memorial Tribute to Northern California Police Officers who have died in the line of duty, including officers from the Oakland Police Department, California Highway Patrol, Martinez, Pittsburg, Sacramento Sheriff, East Palo Alto Police Department, Pittsburg Police Department, and the San Francisco Police Department. A flyover by law enforcement air units will occur, and the National Anthem will be sung once again by San Francisco Police Department Sergeant Jerry D'Arcy. Proceeds from tickets sales will benefit the California Peace Officers Memorial and the Bay Area Law Enforcement Assistance Fund (BALEAF), who provides support to the law enforcement family who have had members killed in the line of duty, have suffered a serious injury, or suffered a catastrophic event. (For more information on BALEAF, please go to their website at www.baleaf.org).

Tickets for this fun event are only $25.00 and can be purchased directly from the San Francisco Police Officers Association office at 800 Bryant Street in San Francisco, or via the web at www.sfgiants.com/special events under Law Enforcement Night (for groups of 25 or more, please call 415-972-2298 - please mention that you are part of the Law Enforcement Group when calling). The seats are located on the view level starting behind home plate. Your ticket price includes a souvenir tote bag and a hosted pre-game Tailgate party at the Mariposa Yacht Club at 1500 hrs. For additional information, please contact Bob Guinan at 415-850-5726. This is a fun, family event and is a great way to honor those of us who have given the ultimate price, and to support two fantastic organizations at the same time. Hope to see you there!

Until my next posting, stay safe.

General News for the Region

Greetings one and all. Sorry for the delay in posting on the blog. I'm still trying to get into the swing of things with this and have been swamped with so many other things lately that it fell to the back burner for awhile. I'm back now, however, and will attempt to be at least somewhat consistent on posting information for you on the blog. Please let me know if there's anything specific that you'd like to see on the blog, and I'll do my best to include it. This is a resource for all of you in the Region, and it's only as good as the information provided to me. The more information you send to me, the more I'll be able to share with everyone.

I will continue forwarding officer safety and training information to you directly via e-mail, however, as I know that not everyone checks the blog regularly, and it's important for you to receive that information quickly and on a timely basis. I send e-mails out regularly to the Region, so if you have NOT been receiving them, PLEASE send me your e-mail address as soon as possible, as that means I either don't have an e-mail address for you, or the e-mail address I have for you is not a good one. Thanks!

First off, I'd like to publicly welcome all of the new Region 10 members and all of you who have renewed your memberships since the fall of 2009. The magazine stopped publishing the individual Region News reports in that first edition of the "new look" issue of the magazine, and I feel it's important to publicly acknowledge all of you. I'll begin by acknowledging those new members and renewal memberships from September of 2009 to the end of 2009. My next blog will include an acknowledgement for those of you who have joined or renewed in 2010.

New members, fall of 2009:

Sgt. Bettina Aschenbrenner - Los Angeles Co. Sheriff's Office
Officer Loretta Sutton - Tempe Police Department
Det. Janice Roska - Mesa Police Department
Officer Tamrah Jackson - Fallon Police Department
Sgt. Tracie Keillor - Sacramento Co. Sheriff's Office
Officer Jennifer Krump - Oakland Police Department
Officer Beth Victoriano - CA Dept. of Corrections
Officer Lori Williams - Riverside Comm. College Police Department
Sheriff Andrea Arreola - San Diego Co. Sheriff's Office
Det. Jacky Bohn - Salinas Police Department
Dep. Director Sally Fairchield - No. Calif. HIDJA
Sgt. Stacey Lim - Los Angeles Police Department
Retired Officer Robin Arostequi - Santa Ana Police Department
Sgt. Carrie Chandler - Scottsdale Police Department
Officer Laura Fable - Scottsdale Police Department
Officer Jennifer Dobee - Phoenix Police Department

Renewals, fall of 2009:

Det. Deborah Gonzalez - Los Angeles Police Department
Sr. Deputy Fabian Brown - San Francisco Sheriff's Office
Sgt. Judith Riggle - San Francisco Police Department
Deputy Sita Singh - Washoe Co. Sheriff's Office
Retired Officer Lillian Braxton (former NYPD; currently resides in Arizona)
Officer Karen Alveraz - Albany Police Department
Sgt. Cindy Davies - Tempe Police Department
Chief Sandra Spagnoli - Benicia Police Department
Lt. Pat Correa - San Francisco Police Department
Officer Lori Lamma - San Francisco Police Department
Sp. Spec. Agent Ester O'Keefe - CA Dept. of Justice
Retired Chief Lisa Ravazza - Piedmont Police Department
Officer Colleen Carlson - San Francisco Police Department
Chief Tracy Nelsen - Pascua Yaqui Police Department
Insp. Yvonne Pratt - San Francisco Police Department
Officer Lee Sullivan - San Francisco Police Department
Retired Inspector Dolly Casazza - San Francisco Police Department
Officer John Mulkern - San Francisco Police Department
Sgt. Michelle Busby - San Diego Police Department
Retired Lt. Suzanne Hackett - MT Hwy Patrol (currently residing in Arizona)
Officer Mary Hooker - Pasadena Police Department

Life Members:

Retired Chief Heather Fong - San Francisco Police Department

Welcome one and all!

Congratulations to San Mateo Police Chief (and Region 10 member) Susan Manheimer, who was installed as the California Police Chiefs Association's first female president this past March! She now heads the 338 member association, which represents all municipal police chiefs in California! The installation was covered on television and in the printed media throughout the San Francisco Bay Area, and likely throughout the State.

Chief Manheimer is also the longest-tenured female police chief in California. She has served as San Mateo's chief since 2000, after serving with the San Francisco Police Department for 16 years. Congratulations, Chief; you deserve it! I know you'll do great as the head of the CPOA!

Senior Deputy Fabian Brown from the San Francisco Sheriff's Office, and another Region 10 member, has also been in the news. Fabian was chosen as one of the guests on the television show, "Check Please", where she was able to choose one of her favorite restaurants and critique it, along with two other guests. Not only did she get to showcase and critique her chosen restaurant, but she was also able to critique the restaurants chosen by two other guests, as well! Looks like she had a blast, too! The show was broadcast on KQED Channel 9 in the San Francisco Bay Area on Thursday, July 8th, and rebroadcast again on Friday, July 9, Saturday, the 10th, and Sunday, the 11th! You can check her out on the show by downloading the video at www.kqed.org/checkplease.

Fabian was also at the right place at the right time when she was working on duty in uniform at the Civic Center Courthouse in San Francisco on June 18th. She was assigned to monitor a large group of nurses from different hospitals throughout California who were awaiting a court ruling, and while outside the court room, she noticed that one of the nurses had stood up and was holding her throat - she could not speak, she was unable to cough, and she was turning blue. One of the nurses there attempted to perform the Hemlich on her, however, she was not able to provide enough thrust. Fabian approached, advised that she was trained to administer the Hemlich Thrust, and took over. After administering three thrusts, she was able to clear the blockage, which was an Omega 3 vitamin, that the nurse had been choking on. Great job, Fabian, though it's kind of scary that nurses couldn't perform the Hemlich successfully!

Until next time, stay safe!

Robin Matthews
IAWP Region 10 Coordinator

Minneapolis Conference - September 26-30, 2010

I'd like to encourage everyone to attend the 48th Annual International Association of Women Police Training Conference, that will be held this year in Minneapolis, Minnesota, September 26-30, 2010. This year's theme is "Strength in Unity."

For those of you who have never attended an IAWP Conference before, I strongly encourage you to attend. But be prepared . . . once you attend one, it's unlikely that you'll be able to stay away from future ones! The training that you'll experience at the conferences are second to none, and the connections that you'll be able to make with women officers (and some men) from around the country and around the world is priceless. For those who have attended IAWP Conferences before, I know that I'm "preaching to the choir!"

Multiple training tracks will be provided at this year's conference, so there will be something for everyone, no matter what your rank or what your interests. Areas that will be covered include Law Enforcement, Probation, Corrections, Legal, Skills, International, Technology, What's Current, and Enrichment! An amazing assortment of classes will be provided, and I encourage you to go onto the IAWP website at www.iawp.org and click on conferences, then go to the link for the Minneapolis Conference to get all the details!

You should also be aware that the registration rates will be going up one last time on July 1st, from $500.00 to $600.00 for members, from $550.00 to $650.00 for non-members, and from $250.00 to $275.00 for retirees and companions, so you'll want to try and take advantage of the lower rates now. Many Department's fiscal year end on June 30th, and if they don't use their training funds, they generally will lose them and not be able to carry it over to the next fiscal year. For agencies that regularly pay to send their employees to training conferences, this is a great opportunity for you to attend! For those of you who must use your own vacation or comp time to attend, as I have to do, I can assure you that the investment in time and money that you make to attend the conference will be well worth it. AND, don't forget, all expenses relating to the trip are a tax write-off, to boot! Look at is as an investment in your law enforcement future.

For those of you that I haven't met in person, I hope that I'll get a chance to meet you there! For those I have, I look forward to seeing you again! Make your plans now, and I'll see you there!

Ann Duncan's passing

It is with great sadness to learn of Ann Duncan's passing last night. Ann was an absolute sweetheart and will be sorely missed by her family and friends, as well as by her friends in the IAWP. Ann had been the Region 17 Coordinator for years, and just passed on the baton at last year's election in Seattle to AnnMarie Alleyne. For those of you who attended the conference in Seattle, you'll remember that Ann received the Heritage Award there, which she was able to share with her family, who had accompanied her to Seattle to witness her receiving the Award.

Our chaplain, Tamia Dow, is asking that if anyone has any memories and/or photos that they would like to share about Ann, to please e-mail them to her at chaplaindow@yahoo.com. She will be doing an ongoing tribute to Ann on her chaplain's blog, and would like to encourage anyone who would like to participate to do so.

Rest in Peace, Ann . . .

Welcome to the Region 10 Blog!

Greetings one and all! The Region 10 Blog is officially up and running! This blog will be used to keep the Region up-to-date on what's happening in the Region, so I encourage everyone to let me know what's going on in your respective Departments and areas in regards to training, promotions, and anything else you'd like to share so that I can make sure it's able to be passed onto the entire Region. This will be an important avenue of information sharing for the Region, which will now be the forum for sharing that type of information, as opposed to it being printed in the magazine. I'm new to blogging, so bare with me as I learn all the ins and outs of it. As you know, I've been active in sending you out regular e-mails on officer safety issues, training, etc, so as I transition over to using the blog instead of doing the mass e-mails, it should help you from getting overloaded with loads of e-mails from me. I will work on getting this set up so that you'll be notified on when a new blog is posted, but until I get that figured out, I encourage you to check the blog regularly! My personal e-mail continues to be RLM2214A@aol.com, so send your info to me there and I'll make sure it gets posted! Until then, stay safe!