A Thank You to All

Lt. Shepard presents Auxiliary Malinky with a beautiful thank you gift. 

The year 2015 was bittersweet. The Fairview Park Police Department hired four new officers. But for every new officer, one officer retired. It is not only a person retiring but also a legacy. Each individual officer carries with them a legacy in years of experience that many get to hear through stories or recognitions.

Two lieutenants and two officers retired, taking with them a combined 122 years of service. That is more time than the 13 officers hired between 1993 and 2014 combined! In addition, the Auxiliary Unit had two officers retire - Jim Thompson and Mary Ann Malinky, who had over 80 years of combined service. Both the regulars and auxiliaries have very big shoes to fill.  

This year, Fairview Park became the second department to have an auxiliary officer stand watch at The Greater Cleveland Police Officer Memorial to honor those that sacrificed everything. Other events that auxiliaries have been honored to be a part of include Cops Ride, Cops and Kids (Shop with a Cop), National Bike and National Walk to School Day, and Summerfest. In the past year, the auxiliary officers have donated over 2,300 hours of volunteer time. The top hour contributors include Officers Handy, Bognar, Pasini, Potelicki, and Zeager.

The Fairview Park Auxiliary Police Association held four fundraisers in 2015 and developed several partnerships. Our largest single fundraiser was the outstanding event with the Pampered Chef. Our ongoing fundraiser is selling Malley’s candy bars.

The Association is pleased to have raised enough funds since its establishment eight months ago to cover all incorporation and registration fees. The association also purchased traffic safety lights after a suggestion from Auxiliary Lahham and winter hats with the auxiliary patch.   

In early 2016, the Auxiliary Unit will be bringing on more officers. If you have a desire to be in law enforcement or you just enjoy helping others, now is your chance. Please visit http://www.fpapa.org or http://www.fairviewpark.org/police-department/auxiliary-police-unit for more information.

Two new fundraisers are in the works. First on the agenda is a sponsorship program that offers businesses and individuals the recognition they deserve for supporting their auxiliary officers. To kick off the program, the FPAPA plans a fundraising event that would include raffles, good food and good people. The date has yet to be determined, but items have already been donated. If you would like to be a sponsor or donate a raffle prize, please send an email to fpauxpa@gmail.com.

None of what we do would be worth it without the support of people like you. On behalf of the Auxiliary Unit and the entire police department, we would like to thank you from the bottom of our hearts.