The Loss of Four of Oakland's Finest

Fellow Emeralds,

The Los Angeles Police Emerald Society offers its heartfelt condolences for the loss of four of Oakland's Finest, Mark Dunakin,John Hege,Ervin Romans and Daniel Sakai. We honor the ultimate sacrifice that each of our brothers made in the line of duty. We keep them, their families and friends in our thoughts and prayers.

We support our Brothers and Sisters of the Oakland Police Department in this most difficult time in the wake of such a momentous tragedy. We stand with you and will be with you in spirit, words, and deeds.

Together As One Always,
Stephen Saletros
President
Los Angeles Police Emerald Society

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Brother and Sister Emeralds,

Wherever you are I hope that You and Yours have a Happy St. Patrick's Day celebrating the spirit of St. Patrick and our Irish heritage!!!

Remember, on St. Patrick's Day everyone is Irish!! Be Proud!! Be Irish!!
God Bless America and Erin Go Bragh!

Steve Saletros
President
Los Angeles Police Emerald Society

PS
For those of you marching in the St. Patrick's Day Parade Downtown, some of us will be having breakfast at the Academy at 0800 Hrs, the Band will take the official Band photo at 0900..There will also be a Society photo taken and our Academy Bus will leave at 100O Hrs and may be making more than one trip...The parade starts at 1130 from Olvera St...If you run into problems enroute to the Academy and will be a little late please call(Phone # is in the email) and let us know...We will do our best to make sure no one is left behind! It will be a wonderful day and I look forward to seeing as many of you as possible!

The Day After

Fellow Emeralds,

This is the day after our Emerald Society St Patrick's Day Party at Maggies Restaurant. I hope that everyone who attended had a wonderful time! It was great to see everyone there and if you weren't there you missed out and we missed you!

An event such as our Party is not a success without much planning, preparation, and perspiration on the part of everyone involved. I would like to thank Brother Jerry O'Keefe for honoring us with his performing the duty of Master of Ceremonies and a fantastic job he did! His booming voice, energy and eloquence really kept the Party humming( an Irish tune of course) and we are hoping to have him back next year!

I would also would like to thank all our volunteers who helped at the door(not an easy job). Your efforts were and are greatly appreciated! An Emerald thank you to Maureen Humes, Jan Lewinson, Patrick Devine, Bill Robertson, Tom Trimble, and Karla Miralles for all the help.

Thanks to Kim Braden and Lisa Golden for handling the wares! I am told we had a record night and in this economy that is really saying something!

Thanks to Liz Donovan for her assistance in planning.

Thanks to Vicky Larson for her donation of two Afghan blankets that she knitted herself and were offered as door prizes!

Thanks to Sgt-at-Arms Gil Sawyer for the wonderful dirk he donated for the raffle. Despite being under the weather Gil came through, as usual, and the dirk raffle was a huge success. Feel better Gil!

Thanks to our other Board members VP JJ Leonard (apologies to JJ for forgetting to announce his 12 yr Jameson whiskey donation) , Treasurer Phil Bowater, and Secretary Lyle Lewinson for their door prize donations and all their efforts!

Thanks to the "Everything Celtic" dance group who really kept the Party jumping with their electrifying Irish step dancing! They were just amazing!

Thanks to Pipe Major Scott Walton and the entire Emerald Society Pipe and Drum Band (Cliff Armas, Susan Morrison, Terry McCarthy, John Humes, Sean Thompson, Michael and Cindy Apodaca, Phil Bowater,Thom MacNamara, Ron Cody, Bill Partridge, John Dewar, Charlie Ezelle, Bill Robertson, Joe Harvey and Lyle Lewinson)

The Band just keeps getting bigger and bigger and sounding better and better and I was deluged by compliments on the evenings performances! Our Band does us proud!

Thanks to "Sligo Rags" and Jennifer Walton for the outstanding musical entertainment!

Celebrating our Irish and law enforcement heritage and traditions and having a wonderful time doing it!

Thank you all who made last night possible and for being there!

All the Best to All My Brothers and Sisters,
Steve Saletros
President

PS...Get ready for our St Patrick's Day parades on 3/14 at Hermosa Beach and 3/17 in Downtown Los Angeles! More details to be announced or re-announced!

Meeting Reminder

Brother and Sister Emeralds!

Our March meeting is tomorrow, March 4th ,beginning at 1900 Hrs (7PM) at the Los Angeles Police Academy. Our special guest speaker will be the Honorary Consul of Ireland, Finbar Hill! It is a great honor to have such a distinguished guest at our March meeting! Finbar has been a great friend of the Emerald Society and his presentations are always the most eloquent and informative on the current conditions and events of Ireland and Irish-American relations. March is OUR month to celebrate our Irish heritage! Let's start it off with a grand meeting with Finbar Hill, a grand son of the Old Sod!

Our St. Patrick's Day Party on March 7th at Maggies restaurant is shaping up to look like one of our best! Tickets are selling briskly and will be on sale at the meeting for 30.00 per ticket. Tickets will not be sold at the door so please get your last orders in for planning purposes! Thanks!

March IS our month and there will be much information to share at this meeting!

A new shipment of wares is coming in and will be available for sale at Maggies. You will want to make sure that you have your Emerald Society shirts, hats, etc for our month long celebration of our Irish heritage and especially on St. Patrick's Day!

So, for this whole month be especially Green and especially proud of our heritage!
After all, we are the EMERALD SOCIETY and WE ARE IRISH!

GOD BLESS AMERICA and ERIN GO BRAGH!
Brother Steve Saletros
President
Los Angeles Police Emerald Society

Events and Items of Interest

1. The Los Angeles Police Emerald Society, with our Pipe and Drum Band leading the way represented the "Green" at the Scottish Fair at the Queen Mary this last weekend. We had an outstanding Emerald Society Booth right next to Clan Buchanan (thanks to Sgt At Arms Gil Sawyer for all his efforts!) which attracted much interest. Thanks to Phil Bowater who donated a sporran and sgian dubh( the traditional dagger worn in our hose) that were raffled off on Saturday and Sunday respectively which raised funds for the Society (Three cheers for our Treasurer Phil Bowater!). Our Pipe and Drum Band had a very strong showing and marched with the other Bands and Scottish Clans, receiving a warm welcome, applause, and many compliments! Thanks to the entire Band who played so well, made us proud and worked the Booth! We couldn't have done it without our Society volunteers at the Booth ( Callum Thomson, Elizabeth Donovan, Patrick Devine, Jan Lewinson, Maureen Humes, Ron Cody). Thanks also to Bill Robertson who joined me in the Color Guard of the opening ceremony at the request of the Queen Mary Scottish Games organizer. This was a great team effort and a great time for everyone involved. We were a point of green in a sea of plaid and we shined brightly!


2. The "Catalpa" fund raiser is set for Branagan's Pub at 213 N. Harbor Blvd., Fullerton, CA 92831 Phone (714) 447-3544. Date and Time: Wednesday FEB. 25 at 7:00PM! Brother Jerry O'Keefe is our contact person for this event (714) 385-5681.

In the 1870s, thousands of Irish immigrants worldwide raised more than 25,000 to rescue six Fenian prisoners from the Freemantle Jail in Western Australia. In a feat that would stagger the imagination of a fiction writer, a group of conspirators bought a whaling vessel called the Catalpa, sailed to Australia, set the prisoners free and brought them to a hero"s welcome in New York in August, 1876.

Film maker Mark Day is nearly finished with an hour -long documentary on the Catalpa escape. He is currently raising completion funds. Day will show a promotional reel of "Catalpa:Rescue at Freemantle." Actors will read from the writings of Catalpa heroes John Boyle O"Reilly, John Devoy, and Captain Anthony and the audience will sing the Catalpa Ballad and other Irish songs to the accompaniment of a local Irish band. The event sponsored by the Ancient Order of Hibernians, our Emerlad Society, and other Irish groups is reminiscent of the solidarity shown to the Fenian prisoners by the Irish Diaspora in the 1870s.

Three Orange County Hibernians, Brothers O'Keefe, Tim Weston, and Jeff Gallagher make cameo appearances as re-enactors in Day's film! This a most worthy and noble project to preserve our history. Be a part of history and help make this film a reality!


3. St. Patrick's Day Party at Maggies: Ticket sales are brisk and the arrangements are running smooothly for another great party this year! Please be sure to send in your ticket payments to the office at 714 W. Olympic Bl # 630, Los Angeles, CA 90015 early as it helps for planning on how many tables we need and seating configuration. Tickets will be on sale at the March meeting which is on March 4th. Thanks to all the members who have stepped up to volunteer and help with making this the best St. Patrick's Day Party anywhere!


There is more info and details to come my Brothers and Sisters! As always, if you have any questions, comments, or concerns please do not hesitate to contact me.

All the Best to All of You!
Slainte,
Steve Saletros
President
Los Angeles Police Emerald Society

L.A. Centurions Football

The L.A. Centurions will start their 2009 season by taking on the Inland Empire Enforcers on Saturday February 28th, 2 PM, at Salesian High School, 960 S. Soto St. Los Angeles, CA 90023. (Hollenbeck Area) http://lapdcenturions.com/

At 9 PM there will be an After Game Bash at the Quiet Cannon Night Club, 901 N. Via San Clemente, Montebello, CA. It'll be in the main club, two levels, large patio with DJ, two dance floors. For more info call (323) 960-5649 or go to: http://911entertainmentgroup.com/

Congratulations to Our LAPES/AOH Brothers

Fellow Emeralds,

As President of the Los Angeles Police Emerald Society, I, on behalf of our entire Society, offer congratulations to Emerald Society Brothers Jerry O' Keefe, Joe Harvey and Jeff Galagher on their recent election to the AOH Board as President, Recording Secretary and Vice-President respectively . We look forward to being good partners in our common pursuits and vision!


Steve Saletros
President
Los Angeles Police Emerald Society

(Click on image to enlarge)