Micah Fox called the meeting to order and Joseph Williams led our prayer and Pledge of Allegiance.
Announcements
- Master Lee will be attending the International Rotary Convention is South Korea. The total cost of the trip is approximately $3000. All Alamance County Rotary clubs are encouraging club members to donate to help Master Lee with the expenses. We will be “passing the bucket” at our meeting over the next couple of weeks. No amount is too small!
Chad Laws – Junior Police Academy
Master Lee was born in South Korea and moved to the US in 1986. He started Lee Brothers is 1991. Master Lee served as previous President of our club and is the incoming Assistant District Governor for our rotary district. He is married to his wife, Allison and has a thirteen year old son, William, who will be a freshman at Western Alamance High School in the Fall. In addition to Rotary, Master Lee volunteers with the Junior Police Academy, DARE and Sister Cities.
Master Lee introduced our guest speaker, Corporal Chad Laws. Laws was born and raised in Burlington, NC. He has an Associate Degree in Criminal Justice from Alamance Community College and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Justice & Policy Studies from Guilford College. He has been employed with the Burlington Police Department for over 18 years and has worked as a patrol officer, D.A.R.E. Officer, and School Resource Officer. He has served for the past 11 years as Assistant Academy Coordinator for the Junior Police Academy. Laws is happily married to his wife Carly, who teaches Art at Eastern Guilford High School. He enjoys traveling, playing golf, as well as lighting and sound design/engineering for theatrical productions.
The Burlington Junior Police Academy is a nationally recognized youth program developed by the Burlington Police Department in 1996. It currently involves a collaborative effort by the Burlington Police Department, Graham Police Department, Alamance County Sheriff’s Office and Alamance Burlington School System (ABSS) with a mission intended to provide at risk middle school aged juveniles social skills that can make them more productive students and members of our community.
Cadets are chosen by law enforcement staff from students recommended by ABSS who are considered to be at-risk and likely to benefit from the Junior Police Academy. Referrals are also received from parents and students who show interest in the program. Cadets undergo a very structured, well disciplined, four week training program, focusing on goal setting, self-esteem, respect, conflict resolution and mediation, anger management, violence, gang, and substance abuse prevention, along with decision making skills. The first week of the Academy is a 24 hour per day program where the participants and leaders travel to and stay on the East Campus of the North Carolina Justice Academy. All other weeks are conducted at the Burlington Police/Fire Training Center on Quarry Road in Haw River, North Carolina.
The cadets work on community service projects each week to demonstrate teamwork and instill the value of giving back to the community. These and other group activities are designed to improve inter-personal skills as well as show examples of positive alternatives to drug or gang activity. Drills and physical fitness are used to develop teamwork and maintain discipline. Guest speakers from the community are invited each week to reinforce the topics being discussed. Graduates of previous Academies are also asked to share their personal experiences in the Academy and how they have applied the skills learned in the Academy in various aspects of their life.
Parent meetings are scheduled weekly throughout the Academy to update parents on the objectives covered and the status of their cadets during the previous week of the Academy. Discussions are held on how the lessons learned and progress made can be reinforced at home with the belief that parents and J.P.A. Staff should work together as a team in order to seek and encourage the desired results in the cadets.
There is no cost to the cadets and their families for participating in the academy. Community donations are solicited to fund the Academy in the form of cash, goods, and services from businesses, charitable organizations, and private citizens with the exception of personnel, facilities, and transportation costs which are funded by the agencies involved. Laws thanked our Rotary club for our past financial support.
The Burlington Police Department, as the founding agency, manages and oversees the Junior Police Academy for administrative and supervisory purposes. Burlington Police Department Staff are assigned as Officer-In-Charge and Academy Coordinators. Personnel from participating agencies fall under the direction of the Burlington Police Department Officer-In Charge and Academy Coordinators who oversee the operation of the Academy.
The Junior Police Academy typically begins the first week of July each year and concludes four weeks later with a formal graduation ceremony. Academy Cadets are mentored for the following school year by personnel associated with the law enforcement agencies involved.
Each participating agency commits personnel to undertake the academy as well as the mentoring program
Card Drawing
Paul Mauney did not draw the winning card.
Program Schedule
- April 19 – Ryan Keur
- April 26 – Sid Little: Bernie Mann, Our State Magazine Publisher
- May 3 – Frank Longest
- May 10 – Francois Masuka
The meeting was adjourned and we all stood to recite the Rotary Four Way Test.