January 10, 2012 - General Membership Meeting Minutes

See the Photos of this event.

TSBA President John Valles started the meeting with the Pledge of Allegiance and a prayer was offered by Rabbi Abraham Friedman. Thank you Abe for pitching in! Several announcements were made concerning the events being held by other fraternal organizations. The President of the International Police Association, Region 2, Juan Perez, attended the meeting and spoke to the TSBA membership about an upcoming trip to Peru being sponsored by his organization.

We also had a team of financial planners speak about NYC Deferred Compensation Plan. Anyone having questions or wanting further information about the plan can reach out to either Jean-Louis Tassart, at (212) 306-5050, or Jonathan Beckford, at (212) 306-7760. Both individuals are located at 40 Rector Street in lower Manhattan.

There were three presentations made to longtime members of the Traffic Squad Benevolent Association. Congratulations to retirees Sergeant Matthew Fay, CTTF, and Deputy Director Barry Mandel and Traffic Manager Frances Nelson, PED. Each served the people of the City of New York with distinction for 29 or more years. Deputy Chief Jack Cassidy told stories about each of the retirees and as usual there was plenty laughter to be heard around the room! Thank you Chief, we always love to hear the “Tales of Cassidy’s Adventures and Encounters.”

Good luck and happy and healthy retirement to all!

Even though Chief of Transportation James Tuller had a prior commitment to attend the Auxiliary Police graduation ceremony at 1PP, he was eventually able to join us. Thank you, Chief! The Chief arrived just in time for the presentation of certificates of recognition to several members of our newly formed City Wide Auxiliary Traffic Task Force Unit. These members were recognized for a “job well done” during the 2011 Holiday Season. We would like to thank all of our supporters and friends that took time from their busy schedules to say hello and congratulate our awardees.

Note: On Friday, January 27th, 2012 @ 1100 hours, the 9th Precinct will be holding a memorial service commemorating the 40th Anniversary of the line of duty deaths of Patrolman Laurie and Patrolman Foster. Detective Jamie Hernandez, 9th Precinct Community Affairs Officer, has extended an invitation to all retired and active MOS to attend. He can be reached at (212) 477-7813 or j9th@aol.com

Finally, I’d like to thank everyone for attending our meeting and hope you had a great time. I ask that you please update your contact information, especially e-mail addresses, as the TSBA often loses money because of returned mailings. Also, if you haven’t renewed your membership yet, please do so at your earliest convenience. And remember to try and recruit new members when speaking with others in our traffic family.

Special thank you to my Vice President William Lee, Sergeant at Arms Farris Coley, Financial Secretary Evelyn Maldonado, FOP Representative Frank Maresca, Quartermaster Carmen Avelo, Corresponding Secretary Robert Sharpe, General Counsel Dave Gold, and DDS Douglas King. All of these members dedicate their time and efforts, without compensation, and provide help and services with great pride.

Once again THANK YOU ALL AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!