February 2013 Letter from the President

Welcome to the Women Police of Alaska webpage! I hope 2013 is going well for each of you. I tried to get this update sent out in January, but the next thing I knew, it was February! I’m sure many of you can relate!

We rounded out the fourth quarter of 2012 with the 4th Annual Women in Law Enforcement Recruitment Fair at the University of Alaska Anchorage, October 24, 2012, partnering with the Alaska State Troopers, the Alaska Association of Chiefs of Police and the UAA Justice Center.  The 2012 was a success and a blog, courtesy of Barbara Armstrong of the UAA Justice Center, can be found at:  http://uaajusticecenter.blogspot.com/2012/12/a-look-back-at-2012-women-in-law.html.

In conjunction with the Women in Law Enforcement Career week, WPA member Kelly Alzaharna, who also happens to be the Director of the Alaska Police Standards Council –APSC-(Alaska’s “POST”), was able to facilitate bringing the training class “Career and Tactical Survival for Women” to Anchorage with renowned trainer Betsy Brantner-Smith on October 25, 2012.  Over 60 women AND men attended the training and WPA provided refreshments for the class.

Closing out the year, we had our second biannual general membership meeting of the year in December during the APSC Executive Development Conference.

In other news, in September 2012, one of our members, Gwen Grimes, an officer with the North Slope Borough Police Department, was featured in an Officer.com article about challenges with clothing and gear used by patrol officers in climates ranging “From Balmy to Bitter Cold”.  You guessed it – Gwen’s part was about the bitter cold!  You can read the informative article at: http://www.officer.com/article/10773520/from-balmy-to-bitter-cold.

And lastly, 2013 is a biennial election year for WPA.  All positions on the Board of Directors will be up for election or re-election. The offices of President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer and four Board members at large will be on the ballot.  Angella Long and Pat Liss have graciously volunteered to be the nominating committee and seek nominations for the ballots to be sent out in April in advance of our next biannual general membership meeting at the 2013 APOA Crime Conference which will be held in Kenai May 20-24 this year.

Best wishes to you all for a SAFE and prosperous 2013!

Your President
Michele Logan