It is with regret that I must announce that our Treasurer Tracy Coscia will be stepping down from her position. Tracy was one of our founding members and has been an integral part of the organization since our inception. She retired two years ago from the Massachusetts Department of Corrections but continued to give tirelessly to NECNA. I will miss her input very much at our meetings and even more so at our conference. Tracy was the behind the scenes person who made everything work. We wish her the best of luck.
John Colautti of the Federal Bureau of Prisons at Devens, Massachusetts has agreed to take on the challenge of the Treasurer’s position. John has been very active in NECNA for many years and we welcome him to the Board. We also welcome Lt. Janine Roberts of the Portland Police Department as the newly elected Maine Representative.
In the only contested seat during this year’s election, Detective Jeff Melisi of the Concord Police Department, squeaked by Sgt. Kevin Burke, of the Massachusetts State Police for the Massachusetts Representative’s position. Congratulations to Jeff and thank you to Kevin for your service to NECNA and the Board.
Now that the 2007 Annual Conference is history, the Board is hard at work preparing for fall training. Check the training link for more information. If you know of any training that you think may be beneficial to negotiators please forward the information to any board member so that we may put it on the training link as well. We are also planning for the 2008 annual conference which will once again be held at the Sea Crest Resort in Falmouth from April 28-30, 2008. The Board has already confirmed a few speakers and continues to search the United States, Canada and beyond for timely and informative negotiations topics. If you have any suggestions, please let any of the board members know.
At the end of May, Mark Higginbottom and I attended the National Council of Negotiation Associations (NCNA) meeting held in San Diego. NECNA is one of the founding members of this organization which meets annually to facilitate the advancement of the discipline of crisis negotiations. Representatives from numerous negotiation associations around the country were present and we gained valuable insights into improving our own association. In 2009, NECNA will host this national assembly on the day before our annual conference. Most of the attendees will then remain for the full conference. This will allow our members to interact with negotiators from around the country and get a sense of how they do things. More information will be forthcoming in the future.
Thank you for all that you do in the field of crisis negotiations and for the lives you save. As always, I may be reached at:
Lieutenant Steve Pugsley
Massachusetts State Police (retired)
Phone: 781-356-5632
Email: smp92@beld.net
