Thursday, October 2, 2008

October News, Announcements, and Schedule

Brother and Sister Emeralds,

Here are a few announcements, schedule changes, and reminders for all of us, in no particular order.

1. Our October meeting is on Wednesday, October 15th...We will have a guest speaker from the LA County Coroners Office, Coroner Investigator Elias. Investigator Elias will be presenting a power point presentation on the role of the Coroners Office, death investigations, dead bodies, corpses, cadavers and death , death and more death...So if you have a morbid curiousity about death or are deathly curious about death come on down to the October meeting... and bring a friend.

Photos will be part of the presentation so be forewarned. Happy Halloween!

And speaking of photos, if members have any photos of recent past Emerald Society events please bring them to our October meeting to submit for our website and an upcoming issue of our "Garda newsletter".

And speaking further of photos, the James Ellroy photo that many of you took with the esteemed author will be available to you at the October meeting!

2. Schedule changes...The Los Angeles Police Protective League Picnic was originally scheduled for Saturday, 10/4 at the Elysian Park Academy where our Pipe and Drum Band had agreed to play for the noon arrival of the officers and their families and friends. However, due to the Los Angeles Dodgers post season schedule (Go Dodgers!) the picnic has been rescheduled for March of next year.

The American Legion Barbecue for our wounded veterans at the Long Beach VA hospital was originally scheduled for 10/11 but has been delayed due to an American Legion activity schedule conflict. As soon as we receive the new date it will be announced here so that we can coordinate and attend this event together!

3. Reception for Route 66ers: The Route 66 Garda Riders will be arriving at the Santa Monica Pier on Wednesday, October 8th after riding all the way from Chicago to the Pacific to benefit the Childrens Hospital in Dublin. Stalwart Emerald Society member LASD Deputy Sean Carrion has taken the lead as our law enforcement liason in organizing a proper reception for our Irish brothers and sisters. We would like to have our members meet at the Santa Monica Pier at NOON on Wednesday 10/8 wearing our Emerald Society shirts to give the riders a warm welcome and salute for a job well done! Having participated in this reception in past years it is a great time to meet old and new friends and in the spirit of copper camraderie have a pint at O'Briens, Finn McCools, or wherever we end up. Sean tells me that about 75 riders are expected and the big hearted Tom Cody from Chicago will be there too! So come on out to the Pier and have a beer of good cheer for the Garda and the good work of all involved for the Children!

Awards Dinner: There will be an awards dinner for the Route 66 Garda Ride on Thursday, 10/9 at the restaurant, "Hidden on Main" at 1900 Hrs. "Hidden on Main" is the restaurant formerly known as "Schatzis" owned by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. If you are interested in attending please contact me and I will provide further details.

Please contact me if you plan on attending either one of these events at 213 253-5966so we can communicate and coordinate our reception for the Route 66 Garda.

4. As many of you know, our wonderful friend and member , Jerry O'Keefe recently suffered a heart attack. I spoke with Jerry at home and he is on the road to recovery and sounded great!

Jerry has expressed his great appreciation for the calls,cards, and prayers he received from our members concerned for his health. With permission from Jerry, I am passing on his address and phone # for our members to contact him and express their well wishes. Jerry O'Keefe, P.O. Box 18651, Anaheim, CA 92817 Tel: 714 998-9590

Jerry, on behalf of the entire Los Angeles Police Emerald Society, our thoughts and prayers are with you and we wish you a speedy complete recovery and good health so we may see you again soon!

5. Good and Welfare Policy...From time to time one of our Emerald Society Brothers or Sisters may be facing a situation that is unduly stressful, unfortunate, or even tragic. What you should know is that when your Board becomes aware of such a circumstance , a card is sent by our Secretary Lyle Lewinson to that member, on behalf of the entire Emerald Society expressing our concern, support and best wishes to that member. Announcements regarding our members good and welfare can also be made at our monthly meetings or here in this forum. In the spirit of the Claddagh we express our friendship , loyalty and love for each member and their families in this way. However, we are also sensitive to the privacy of our members and so information such as personal circumstance, addresses and phone numbers will only be announced with the consent of the member. I encourage any and all members to let me know of any situations where an expression of concern, love and support would lift the spirits of one of our brothers or sisters.

That's it for now, my fellow Emeralds...if you have any thoughts, ideas or opinions you'd like to share with me, drop me a line here or you can call me at 213 253-5966.

All the Best to All of You,
Slainte,
Steve Saletros
President