..From the desk of President Randy Kirby, FOP Lodge 123

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

I apologize for missing the meeting last week.  Mark Sexton and I attended a seminar at the Harvard Law School in Cambridge Ma.  This is a great seminar, invited are the Union Presidents of the 50 largest Police agencies in the United States.  Speakers included Harvard Law Professors as well as some of the attending Presidents who speak of issues concerning their agencies.  This seminar gives all ideas of how to fix some of the longstanding problems in their agencies.  The Seminar is put on by the Police Beat Magazine along with Harvard University.   We also were able to attend the Red Sox / Yankee game where the Red sox prevailed.

I also have been told Richard Boyd and all that assisted did an outstanding job in presenting the seminar in reference to representing other officers during administrative investigations.   I have received numerous comments on the excellent job and informative content of the material presented.  Thanks Richard and all who participated.

Contract negotiations are still moving slow as we still do not have all of our numbers back on the 10 city survey. the next scheduled meeting is set for April 23.

The on-line survey being conducted by the University of Oklahoma is doing well.  We have to this date had in excess of 400 members take the survey.  If you are an active officer and have not yet taken the survey please do so before April 30, 2008.  You can log onto the FOP website at http://www.fop123okc.com and participate in the survey.

I spoke to Chief Kuhlman last week, in reference to the manpower study being conducted by Berkshire Advisors, Inc.  I was advised that the steering committee as what they believe is their last meeting with Berkshire on Wednesday April 16, Chief Kuhlman advised they expect at least a preliminary report within 30 days of this meeting and is hopeful it will be sooner than this.

Please remember our Brothers and Sisters in illness and distress.  Remember "We Work for God".  Be Safe.

Fraternally,

Randy Kirby
President