For a long time, the Bristol Exchange Club has picked a member of the city's police force as its officer of the year.
But officers are wondering if the tradition is coming to an end.
Chief John DiVenere said he usually hears from the service club in November or so to sound out possibilities for the honor.
But so far, he told inquisitive Police Board members, he's heard nothing at all from the group.
Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
10 comments:
Dan Britt!
Again?
I think the depts are tired of being used by the Exchange Club as a means for a fundraiser and on top of that, there was a general sense that the events over the last couple of years were poorly planned. They used to do a decent job in years past but the changing of the Exchange Club guard has changed that.
The exchange Club has never used the police dept as a tool for fund raisers apparently you have sour grapes for the people that are now running the club.
Does the P.D. need a club to blow their horn for them maybe they should form their own club
Seems like th eExchange Club has opted out, not the Police Department.
My name is Beverly Foote President of the Bristol Exchange Club. We are still having the dinner for the Policeman of the Year in March. The person in charge of the committee is working on it right now. The Police Dept always gives us the name of the person they want from the Dept. We do not pick the Officer of the Year. For the person that wrote in about the events being poorly planned over the past couple of years please tell us how we may do better or maybe you can join the Club and help us as we are always looking for new members.
Thank you for setting the record straight, Beverly. Be sure to let us know about your plans!
The Bristol Exchange Club has and will continue to support the community. The BEC welcomes anyones suggestions for improvement on any function, but as Bevery stated, "The BEC does not elect or 'pick' the hero of ther year wether it is the Firefighter, Police Officer or the Explorer." They leave that up to the correct department. You should not knock the Bristol Exchange Club for trying to unify the community. I feel Bristol people are so worried about complaining, that they forget they can be involved for improvements!!! If you would like to become a member or just have your comments heard, feel free to participate at one of their meetings: Carmine's restaurant every second and forth Monday of each month at 7:00pm - or visit www.bristolexchangeclub.com for further information. EVERYONE IS WELCOME TO GET INVOLVED! Good job Bristol Exchange Club and all other community groups that continue to have hope for Bristol all together!!
I would like to clarify comments that the Bristol Exchange Club does not choose the Police Officer of the Year. I am a past-President of the Exchange Club and chaired the Police Officer of the Year banquet for many years. During that time the members of the Police Officer of the Year Committee always chose the recipient of the award. The BPD would submit write-ups on all of the police officers who received commendations during the previous year (essentially they were "police officers of the month"). The committee would go through all of the submissions and choose the officer they felt was most worthy of the yearly award. While we may have met with Chief DiVenere and his predecessors to get their input, the recipient was always chosen by the committee. I am no longer a member of the Exchange Club but I assume from Bev Foote's message that the method of choosing the yearly recipient has changed. I just wanted to give some background as to how the recipients used to be chosen. I don't understand the mean-spirited comments by folks that say the Exchange Club "uses" the award merely as a fundraiser. The Exchange Club has a deep appreciation of the men and women who put their lives on the line every day to protect the citizens of Bristol. They hold the Police Officer and the Fire Fighter of the Year banquets to honor not only the award recipients, but to recognize the outstanding efforts of all members of the BPD and the BFD. The Exchange Club should not be criticized but applauded for their efforts.
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