President’s
Message
By David J. Mahoney
As the first 2007 issue of the Wisconsin Police Journal reaches each of our members, we find ourselves entering yet another New Year, and closing out the celebrated seasons of Thanksgiving and Christmas. As we forge ahead into 2007, it is important to use the holiday season to reflect on the gifts we each give and receive throughout the year.
Thanksgiving began the season, providing us with an opportunity to give thanks for the blessings we have been given. For those of us with children, we should appreciate the chance to guide them toward a productive life, and with the love of a spouse or partner, a chance to open our own hearts to be loved.
Our blessings should necessarily include those who comprise our extended families. Whether it’s the dispatchers who send us into danger armed with crucial information, our fellow officers who answer the calls for service, the clerical and courthouse employees who work alongside us, or the WPPA business agents who work to improve and protect our contractual rights, each benefits us in a different way.
The next holiday was Christmas, the time of giving. Each of us gives to our communities on a daily basis, working the hours we do and responding to the varied calls for service, whether in a sworn or non-sworn capacity. One of the greatest gifts one person can give to another is that of friendship. Your dedicated Board of Directors, business agents, and all our WPPA staff will strive to earn your friendship through our continued service to you, our members.
New Year’s completes the “hat trick” of holidays and was the time to start anew and make plans for the future. Just as each of you will be making changes and resolutions for 2007, I, too, will be making a change; one which requires that this will be my last “President’s Message.” On January 2, 2007, I will be sworn in as the next Dane County Sheriff, ending over ten years of service to the WPPA membership as a Board member, Vice-President, and for the past three years, as your President.
As I close this chapter of my career, I hope that our Association is a little better than when I came to it. I believe the WPPA has never been stronger or more respected in the labor field than it is today, and this is due in no small measure to the dedicated staff in our home office and the business agents in the field who work on your behalf each and every day.
In closing, give thanks all year for your blessings. I thank you for your friendship, support, and service. I will look forward to meeting you along the roads of life that we travel. Until then, take care of those who take care of you. Be safe!
