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HomeMy WebLinkAboutII (A) Auxillary Unit and Volunteers in Police Services Awards Agenda 1-07-2003 Item II A Center of Good L• ,Sb 1 fill, Steven J. Goclon Chief of Police i `^y 1 -off MEMORANDUM To: The l Ionorable Mayor and City Commissioners From: Chief Goclon Date: December 30, 2003 RE: Auxiliary Unit and Volunteers In Police Services Awards For many years, the Ocoee Police Department has benefited from an Auxiliary Unit. Our Auxiliary Unit consists of individuals who maintain their civilian jobs and volunteer their free time as trained sworn law enforcement officers. These Auxiliary Officers assist the department in many ways, but are invaluable when the City hosts large events such as parades and the Annual Founders' Day Festival. The Police Department would like to present Dedicated Service Awards to the following Auxiliary Officers: Bob Chedwick David Ball Tim Harding Doug Lawless In September of 2001, the City Commission approved the creation of a Citizen Police Academy (CPA). One of the anticipated benefits of the CPA was the generation of a pool of civic-minded volunteers. During 2002, the Ocoee Police Department created the Volunteers In Police Services (VII'S) to combine existing volunteer programs, invite concerned citizens to work with the police department, and improve the quality of service provided to the community. August of 2002 marked the date that the Ocoee Police Department had enough active volunteers to begin hosting its own events. In the first quarter, the VIPS was able to log over 400 volunteer hours. These hours spanned activities such as finger printing children, and staffing the First Annual Founders Day Festival Poker Run held for the Holiday Toys for Tots program. Some of the volunteers assist with the Neighborhood Restorative Justice Program, a program designed to reach troubled youth before they find themselves with criminal records. The Ocoee Police Department would like to thank all of the people who have volunteered, but would especially like to recognize the volunteers whose contributions went way beyond what was expected. Betty Decker Michelle Grogan John Grogan RE: Auxiliary Unit and Volunteers In Police Services Awards Linda Hill Art Johnstone Fernando Martinez Anna McCosker Brian McIntosh Lori McIntosh Rob McKey Eva Roberts John Roberts Tony Robinson Jennifer Robinson Cecil Sammons Mark Scaizo John Vogt This year the Citizen Advisory Council for the Ocoee Police Department selected the first Volunteer In Police Services Volunteer of the Year, Marge Johnstone. Marge Johnstone and her husband, Art, own Ocoee Tire located in the Good Homes Plaza. She lives in a sub-division just outside of the city of Ocoee. Marge is an active member of the Ocoee Rotary Club. Marge has assisted the Ocoee Police Department in many different areas. As a business owner, Marge donated prizes to be used for drawings in the Ocoee Founder's Festival Poker Run. She also donated baseball caps to be used as incentive for participants of the Poker Run to demonstrate the use of proper safety equipment. As a member of the Ocoee Rotary Club, Marge Johnstone has teamed up with the Ocoee Police Department on several occasions. Marge has invited the Ocoee Police Explorers to attend a bike rodeo and a car theft prevention event at the West Oaks Mall. For the Founder's Day Festival, she invited the VIPS to hold a child-fingerprinting event next to the Rotary Club's Bike Safety Festival. Marge and her husband, Art, also ran the Ocoee Founder's Day Festival Information Booth. When the Ocoee Police Department was creating a bike safety video for OGTV, Marge secured a $500 donation from the Health Central Foundation, so that the video could he edited and transferred onto videotape for distribution. Marge Johnstone has attended the 32-hour Child Safety Scat Inspection Course hosted by the Ocoee Police Department and AAA, and the eight hour Florida Traffic and Bicycle Safety Education Program's Community Workshop. This class enabled her to sign out the bike rodeo trailer for events. Marge has assisted Sgt. McCosker in setting up one of these events for Victory Christian Academy, where 66 children went through the bike rodeo and 17 of them received free helmets. Marge is a volunteer for the Neighborhood Restorative Justice Program. Marge and her family also catered the graduation banquet for the first and third Citizen Police Academy classes. She did this at great personal expense. Marge's contributions to the police department and to the community are greatly appreciated.