Convention 2017 POAM Annual Convention Recap

“You deserve to be treated fairly. You deserve these jobs. And we are going to continue to keep working for you every single day. What do we have to offer you? Every single one of these people to my right and to my left here, they care about you.” – POAM President, Jim Tignanelli

Day 1: Seminar Highlights

• Critical Incidents
• Garrity Rights

Read about our highlights from POAM Annual Convention Seminar HERE.

Day 2: Business meeting highlights

THANK YOU FROM DICK DEVOS

Dick has done so many things behind the scenes for us that nobody ever hears about. We truly appreciate it.

“I want to say two thank you’s.

First, thank you for choosing us. Thank you for coming back to Grand Rapids and to the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel. We are very honored to have you with us. We know you have options and we are thrilled to have you. I hope you love your home community as much as I love mine. I love showing off my town. Frankly, we’re getting national recognition and if you haven’t gotten a chance to explore us, please do. Thank you for coming to our town. We are grateful.

One more thank you. As a private citizen I want to stand here and say thank you for what you do every  day. It way too often goes unnoticed, unthanked. So on behalf of this private citizen and the family that I represent, thank you. I’m honored to be a small part of your community. Welcome to Grand Rapids.” -Dick DeVos

“Thank you to every law enforcement officer for what you do every day. Thank you for protecting our families.” – Supreme Court Justice Kurtis Wilder

2017 POLICE OFFICER OF THE YEAR AWARDS

Read our article on each police officer who was awarded Police Officer of the Year HERE.

2017 LEGISLATIVE REPORT

Matthew Schneider, Chief Deputy Attorney

Board members, justices, and friends. Attorney General Schuette sends his greetings. He never misses this meeting, but he’s with his son Billy who’s leaving for Chile. This is a huge change in their lives and in their relationship, so he needed to be with his son.

Threats Against Police Officers

I want to discuss a couple changes. We are suffering through a rise and an attack against police officers. Facebook is a great tool to talk to your friends, to keep in touch. You know what else it’s used for? To post deadly threats to police officers and these threats are designed to inspire other people to violence. When those 5 “To those snipers in Texas I commend you. Start killing all white cops.”

Attorney General Schuette took that threat very seriously and that’s why we will vigorously prosecute this case.

Distribution & Addiction to Drugs

Secondly, we are seeing a significant rise in a deadly challenge that effects all and effects Michiganders. This is the distribution and the addiction to heroin and opioids. It’s an epidemic that we must all be united on to fight.

On the demand side, we all know what we can do. However, when it comes to the supply side, we must attack the supply side. Attorney General Schuette wants to ask for your help and we want to help you in return.

Our office, for the first time in this history, is establishing a drug case load. We are all in this together and so we want to reach out to you. if my office can help you, come see me. If you want to prosecute a case and you need our help, let ue know. we are here to help you.

One thing that will never change is Attorney General Schuette’s support for you. Thank you for all that you do. God Bless You.

Michigan Lobbyist, Timothy Ward – Gave an update

Washington D.C. Lobbyist, Dennis McGrann – Gave an update

BRIAN NELSON CALLEY, MICHIGAN LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR

My pledge to you is that the work that has been done so far is only just beginning. The other thing I wanted to say is thank you.

The Addiction Epidemic

We have an addiction epidemic sweeping our nation. When people are put away ,a lot of the time it’s because of drugs, addiction, or something to do with it. Most people, when they are incarcerated, will get out. How do we make sure when they get out, they don’t go back? We truly need to identify addiction issues and address them correctly. We need to make sure that people whose lives are going in the wrong direction are actually going in the right direction. This work is underway right now, and we see in some cases, we see that when there’s a treatment method, these numbers go down.

I’m so confident that we have enough people pushing and oriented now that we are going to make a difference. When I think about you guys, I think about the very beginning. On the first day, there was a Declaration of Independence. That second sentence says, “We hold these truths to be self evident that all men are created equal…” then it says, “to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men. that derive their just powers.” and that’s where you come in. when you talk about the life, liberty and pursuit of happiness. when you talk about securing these rights, that’s you. Our police officers.

“You are such an integral and essential part of our country and our lives. Thank you for always being here. Thank you for your bravery and courage, for always running in when others are running out. You are the best among us.” – Brian Nelson Calley, Michigan Lieutenant Governor

View Photos From The Convention

Day 1: POAM Seminar

Day 2: Business Meeting