Greetings:

It is certainly an honor to be serving as President of the Missouri Peace Officers Association. MPOA is one of the oldest, largest and certainly the most diverse of law enforcement associations in the state. Our membership includes staff of all ranks from municipal, universities, county, state and federal agencies as well as the railway police and many private agencies that provide law enforcement or security services. It is this diversity that makes MPOA one of the best associations the citizens across our great state deserve.

MPOA has at its roots the formula to bring together all aspects of the law enforcement community to help one another become better officers, irregardless of whether you are working as a patrol officer or as an administrator. If we work daily to improve ourselves, not only in our own jurisdictions, but also to improve our working relationships with other agencies, I can assure you the bad guys will lose more and more while our communities become safer.

It is easy to slip into turf battles from one agency to another and to be critical of another agencies motives or intentions. Cooperation with other agencies takes work, plain and simple. This starts at the top of the organization. As an administrator, I never take anything for granted. If someone feels slighted, we pick up the phone and talk or better yet, get in the car and drive over for a little face-to-face time, to get it worked out. I say, don't let these "wounds" fester. Get it worked out!  The citizens we serve deserve our best efforts each and every day.

My goal for my year as president is to get the word out about the many benefits of MPOA and to increase our membership by 25%. For $15.00 a year it is the best bargain out there today and for several, the best kept secret! To reach this goal, I certainly need your help!

I look forward to serving as your president for the next year and most importantly your help in reaching my goal of 25% increase in membership.

May God bless each of you and keep you safe!