02.20.09
Posted in News, Minutes at 10:50 am by Secretary
The February general board meeting for the First Federal Lodge, Fraternal Order of Police, was held on February 17th, 2009 at the Lodge 5 hall. First order of business: we lost a Lodge brother to cancer, and Philadelphia lost yet another officer to violence.
First Federal Lodge brother Robert E. “Bobby” Krauss lost his battle with cancer at the age of 58 on Friday, January 23rd. Officer Krauss served with several police departments prior to his employment with the Deprtment of the Navy at the Philadelphia Naval Yard in 2003. Officer Krauss served faithfully and proudly with the Philadelphia Naval Yard Police Department until 2004, when an injury he incurred led to the discovery of cancer. Bob was a decorated officer who spent a lifetime in service to his country, community, family and friends.
Last Friday night, the 13th of February, Philadelphia Officer John Pawlowski lost his life to a gunman when he responded to a disturbance call at Broad and Olney. The 25-year-old officer is survived by his expectant wife. John is the 8th Philadelphia Police Officer killed in the line of duty since 2006. More information on Officer John Pawlowski and how to make donations to help his family, can be found at the Lodge #5 website.
After a brief discussion, a motion was passed that our lodge’s executive board will forego attending the National convention in Long Beach, California this year, in order for the lodge to instead make a donation to Lodge #5’s Survivors’ Benefit Fund. The fund benefits the surviving families of fallen Philadelphia police officers, and has been pretty much depleted recently. It was the conclusion of the executive board and lodge members that attended this month’s meeting, that the funds would be put to better use in the Survivors’ Fund than for executive-board seminars at the national convention. An exact donation amount has yet to be determined. Arrangements will be made at a later date for executive-board members to attend some of the training available, so we can learn how to better serve you, our lodge brothers and sisters.
Brother Frank Colantonio volunteered to work on a recurring newsletter that will be mailed out to all active and retired lodge members, as well as being made available in digital form via secured (i.e., government server based) email. The newsletter will include general board meeting minutes, upcoming lodge and local events, law enforcement alerts, and other pertinent information that cannot be posted to the public website.
The 2009 membership cards and courtesy cards are finally in, and will be sent out early next week. I still have to stuff 200+ envelopes with membership cards, courtesy cards and 2009 decals, and get them out, so your continued patience is appreciated. If you do not receive your cards by the second week of March, please contact me or your agency representative, because your address may be incorrect on our roster or National’s roster; if it is incorrect, you will not receive any mailings from us nor the Grand Lodge until it is corrected.
Those that attended the February meeting already have their cards, so it is beneficial to attend the meetings from time to time. As a reminder, the general body meetings are bi-monthly (on the even-numbered months), on the third Tuesday of the month, at 7:00pm at the Lodge #5 hall, located at 1336 Spring Garden Street in Philadelphia. The next meeting will be April 21, 2009, and once again, the bar will be open at the conclusion of our general body meeting.
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06.17.08
Posted in News at 1:57 pm by Secretary
In the February 2008 general meeting, it was introduced and passed that the general body meetings would be made bi-monthly. Meetings will still be on the third Tuesday of the month, but only in even-numbered months (Feb, April, June, Aug, Oct and Dec), 7:00pm at the Lodge 5 Hall. President Carroll has promised a bartender on-hand for every meeting, so the Lodge 5 bar will be open at the conclusion of every meeting. The December general body meeting may double as the lodge Christmas party, barring any other arrangements.
“The Store” will no longer be brought to the general body meeting. If anyone wants to purchase decals, vehicle emblems, or other FOP merchandise, please let your agency representative know before the next meeting. Representatives can email the Secretary or the President, and the requested items will be brought to the next meeting for purchase. To reiterate, no FOP merchandise will be available for sale at the general body meetings unless requested ahead of time.
Because of increasing costs in legal defense and other expenses, dues for full bargaining-unit members with legal defense has been increased to $15 per (two-week) pay period. President Carroll did his best to delay the increase, but increasing expenses mandated an increase in lodge income.
I will soon be contacting agency representatives and all members of the executive board in reference to this website. We want all “staff” members to have an email account (@ firstfedlodge.com) and all executive board members to be able to add articles to the main page on their own. I will be writing up instructions and issuing temporary passwords to everyone involved in the next few weeks. All agency representatives that would like a dedicated email address, please let me know and make sure your email and regular mailing address on the Grand Lodge website is up to date.
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12.04.07
Posted in News at 9:53 am by Secretary
The Lodge’s monthly meeting for December will be held on the third Tuesday (December 18th) at 7:00pm. In lieu of a holiday party this year, a bartender will be on-hand at the Lodge 5 bar after our meeting. All members are encouraged to attend.
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11.17.07
Posted in News at 6:11 pm by Secretary
The monthly lodge meeting for the month of November, originally scheduled for Tuesday the 20th, has been canceled. Please feel free to contact us via email or voice-mail with any membership issues. Membership cards for 2008 should be available by the third week of January, as usual.
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09.16.07
Posted in News at 11:59 pm by Secretary
There have been no meetings since June, but business has carried on. Ranger Peter Leon, National Park Service, was appointed as Second Vice President. The executive board attended the National Conference in Louisville, KY in August, schmoozing with the national officials and our local Lodge 5 brothers, as well as attending informational seminars in order to learn how to better serve you, our lodge brothers and sisters.
Monthly lodge meetings will resume on Tuesday, September 18th, at the Lodge 5 hall. Meetings will continue to be held on the third Tuesday of every month. This month’s meeting will be attended by lodge attorney Steve DeNigris. If you have any questions for Steve, be sure to attend the meeting or pass your questions on to your agency representative that will be attending.
Per capita paperwork is in, and will be completed soon. If anyone has any address changes or applications from new members, please make sure they are turned in by this month’s meeting. All new members that have joined in the past year will be entered into the national roster this time around. Computer issues at National’s end have been sorted out, and the roster will be complete and correct within the next few weeks. All new members will get their cards this year.
As a reminder, if you have any issues or questions, feel free to contact us at (267) 975-1699.
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05.12.07
Posted in Memo at 10:08 am by Secretary
By order of the Lodge President, Steve Carroll, we will be keeping a tighter reign on the sales of official Active Member FOP metal vehicle emblems. We have been keeping track of the issued emblems by their serial number, but from now on members will be required to show their vehicle registration, so the emblem number can be associated with a specific vehicle in our records. The metal emblems for Associate Members have been ordered, and will be sent to all Associate Members in good standing when we receive them.
New active members are now required to remain in good standing for a minimum of six (6) months prior to requesting endorsement of the “good standing letter” that is required to obtain FOP license plates in PA, DE and NJ.
The letters and instructions for obtaining FOP license plates are now available in the Forms section.
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Posted in News at 10:01 am by Secretary
Due to work commitments of the executive board, the May meeting will be postponed until Tuesday, June 19th. The regular time and place still apply: 7:00 pm at the Lodge 5 Hall. After the June meeting, the executive board will be on summer hiatus, and meetings will resume on the third Tuesday of September.
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