Dear Maryland Chiefs and Sheriffs,
Greetings from sunny Sarasota, Florida, the spring training home for the Baltimore Orioles! My new position with the Sarasota Police dept. is challenging but I love it. I got to dance with the Orioles bird during the 7th inning stretch and actually threw out the first pitch at a ball game this year. Of course it was a strike!!
One of the many things I miss about Maryland is my association with the Chiefs and Sheriffs there. Your support and friendship over the years has been a blessing to me. I am indebted to all of you and if I can ever be of any help or assistance, please don’t hesitate to call. 941-780-2746.
I hope the conference in Ocean City is going well and I really miss being with all of you this year! This is the first conference I have not attended since 2003. I will miss plunging for Special Olympics and hope you all donate and participate in the event on my behalf! Who will take the lead in selling you all the raffle tickets? Come on $20 gets you an arms length!! Lol
The purpose of my letter is to ask you to support a fellow chief in the state of Florida, Don De Lucca. Don is running for forth Vice President of the IACP. Many of you may recall I intended to run for that position is year. As many of you know when you start with a new department the first year is vital to establishing the organization. I found with a change in departments a run for the position in the IACP was time consuming and I decided a future run would benefit me and the agency I am with now. I officially pulled out of the race early this summer.
I am now supporting Don De Lucca for the position. He is a fellow Florida chief and I want to share with you a little about Don.
He started his law enforcement career in the City of Miami Beach as a 20 year old in 1981. He rose to the rank of chief in 2001 and held that position until 2007. He is currently the chief in Golden Beach Florida which is just north of Miami. He has been a member of the IACp since 1997. He is past member of the legislative committee, executive committee representing cities of 100,000 to 500,000 and for the past ten years he has been the chairperson for the annual conference committee. Additionally he was the host chief for the 2005 IACP conference held in Miami Beach. Anyone who attended the IACP conference in Miami the year MaryAnn Viverette became president knows what a great event it was.
Prior to attending the Maryland Chiefs Association Don has made 28 trips to listen to members to understand the concerns and issues of their associations. Two of the trips were international. To date he has received the endorsement of of 17 associations.
There is more info about Don on his web site www.dondeluccaiacp2013.com
I wish I could be there in person to personally endorse Don De Lucca, but my work and personal schedule prohibits me from attending. It would have been great to see the faces of my friends and eat an ice cream cone with you during the breaks! I am confident Barry has outdone himself again this year with the conference.
Please take the time to talk with Don and get to know him as I have. He is genuine and cares about the IACP membership. He has worked hard to earn the trust of me and the membership.
I hope you will attend the IACP conference in Philadelphia. I will be there and look forward to see you again. I will be voting for Don in Philly and I encourage you to do the same. An endorsement from the Maryland Chiefs is an important one and I ask you consider giving him the Maryland Chiefs support.
I wish our outgoing and incoming presidents best wishes and good luck. I think of you all often and hope you will contact me when you get to the Sunshine State!
All the best and be safe,
Bernadette DiPino
Past president Md chiefs
Sarasota Police Chief