October 2008 President’s Corner
Greetings and welcome to our Women Police of Alaska webpage! I hope to make this a quarterly, or at least a semi-yearly, update of what our organization is doing, and to recognize the achievements of our members and women in law enforcement in Alaska. Of course, you can always keep abreast of what goes on at our scheduled meetings if you are unable to attend due to work obligations or the geographic constraints we have to contend with here in our great State of Alaska by clicking on the link to “Meeting Minutes.”
In 2008, Women Police of Alaska raised over $1,200 towards our programs, primarily our scholarship program, thanks to the efforts of our Juneau members who conducted a WPA-sponsored silent auction at the APOA Crime Conference in Juneau in May of 2008. Our scholarship committee voted to award two (2) $1,000 scholarships for the 2008-2009 school year. The WPA scholarship program is a shared effort with ProComm of Alaska which generously contributes half of the scholarship money we award. You can read more about our 2008-2009 scholarship recipients and about our scholarship program under the “Scholarship” link.
Our next WPA meeting is December 3, 2008 in Anchorage during the Executive Development Conference. It will be held at 11:30 am at the China Lights Restaurant on the Old Seward Hwy, just a stone’s throw from the Dimond Center Hotel where the conference is being held. I should mention here that we attempted to have a WPA meeting on Thursday, October 23, 2008 in Juneau, but had to cancel it due to weather – yes, nasty Juneau weather – which also canceled my scheduled landing into our state capital. After overflying Juneau, Alaska Airlines proceeded to kick me off the flight in Petersburg (charming town, by the way) and told me I could wait until the next day to “tentatively” try to fly back to Juneau. I opted instead for the reliable 8-hour Alaska Marine Hwy ferry ride which left Petersburg at 2:15 am and got me into Juneau at 10:30 am Friday so I could complete my business there. My quick hour and a half flight to Juneau turned into a 24-hour adventure. It was truly a “southeast Alaska” experience!
For me, the Juneau trip also underscored the geographical challenges we have as an Alaska organization in keeping our members in touch, and more importantly, keeping our organization relevant for our members. That is why I believe this website is an important key to keeping us connected. If you have any newsworthy items for our members, announcements, achievements, etc., please e-mail that information to Angella Long at 
Any questions or concerns about Women Police of Alaska may be directed to me, Michele Logan, at 
And last but not least, we were all saddened at the recent passing of one of our long time WPA members and ardent supporter of all law enforcement, Herb Shaindlin. Our sincere condolences go out to his wife, Jean, also a WPA member, and his entire family.
Until next time, stay safe!
Your President,
Michele Logan