01/11/2024
A message from your President.
We held the January meeting last night with 18 in attendance. Several items were hashed out.
January is when all dues are to be paid for the 2024 year. Members have until the February meeting to make their payment. Dues not collected by the end of that meeting will incur a $25 late fee. Dues may be paid by either attending a meeting or mailing your check to the Lodge at FOP Lodge 58, PO Box 215, Pleasant Grove AL 35127. Most of the regulars took care of their 2024 dues in November.
Retirees must now carry the cost of their affiliation with the State and National FOP organizations which is $18. About a third of our members are retirees. The Lodge does not make a penny from their membership.
I discussed why people join FOP Lodge 58. There are 3 reasons… 1. In order to obtain low cost moonlighting off-duty liability insurance that is only available from the National FOP Organization, you have to be an active member of a local FOP lodge. 2. The state of Alabama makes available a FOP personalized tag to active FOP members. You have to show them your card proving you are an FOP active member. FOP Lodge 58 is the least expensive way to obtain that card so you can get a cool FOP tag. 3. People join to be a part of something worthwhile, to meet new friends, and to support the local Lodge with your membership.
I discussed a problem the range is experiencing with a new neighbor, a guy who has leased the property around the range to use as his private hunting club. He has an issue with our closing the business each day by placing a barrel in the range road with a no trespassing notice on it.
The obstruction is there to prove intent of anyone on the property after hours, such as the carload that showed up in the middle of the night a few weeks ago, set off our motion alarms, had 4 guys get out and go towards the office who met Lee with his rifle and then fled. They were stopped for a moment by PGPD on the range road but drove around the patrol car and a chase ensued that was called off when the car made it to the interstate. Bessemer PD later that night got the car, which was stolen, and found one of the armed occupants was wanted for murder. That is why we put a barrel in the roadway. A gate would be better but would create an issue if Lee had a medical emergency and needed paramedics who would have to walk the 1/2 mile in.
I had Joe dig up the paperwork for the purchase of the range property and read it. Seems we have a non-exclusive easement from 1st Street to the edge of the property that begins in the center of the powerlines that cross the range road.
This morning, Lee and David observed this new neighbor take a couple of shots at deer. The land he is hunting on is in the city of Pleasant Grove and subject to their ordinance against the discharge of fi****ms in their limits. He had been told he could only bow hunt the property. I discussed the possibility of the Range seeking to lease the same property as a buffer when his lease expires. There is a potential for us to develop a much needed s***t / trap / 5 stand shotgun field if we can secure the space.
I discussed the role of the FOP Lodge 58. A member who had not attended a meeting in a few years took exception to the requirement of having to attend one meeting during the year to qualify for the Christmas Dinner at the Bright Star. He did so on the Lodge page. He said the Lodge is not doing anything beneficial as an FOP Lodge and has become nothing more than a “dinner club”.
The Lodge is here to support its members. We have extended financial help to many over the years such as guys who had their house burn down and lost everything, were unable to afford medication, or had family members who were in need. The entire time I have been the President, we have supported the State FOP Honor Guard by fully sponsoring one of our members who served on the Honor Guard and picking up the tab for fuel for any event he attended. We also sent him to Washington DC to represent us at the Police Officer Memorial Service for several years. The range is made available to any law enforcement agency who needs a place to train and qualify its officers free of charge. The Lodge and Range have hosted law enforcement tactical matches where agencies sent teams to compete. We held a Law Enforcement appreciation Fun Shoot Day complete with food trucks. After the Christmas Dinner, we donated over $1800 to the Salvation Army. We have made a substantial donation to children in one way or another every Christmas for the last 27 years. We also maintain a training fund for Lodge members who want LE training their agency won’t pay for.
In my conversation with this member, I asked him what he thought we should be doing differently? He said he wanted to see the Lodge go to area agencies and speak to its officers and let them know what the FOP can do for them. I know of no other Lodge that does so. Officers are smart enough to figure out what they need to do to become an Active FOP member. Our Lodge is the best low cost way of obtaining the things they need.
As for us being a dinner club… Hell yes, we are a dinner club. We are an awesome dinner club. After each meeting we go to a local restaurant for a meal together. We finish off each year with an awesome dinner together at one of the best places to eat on the planet. All anyone needs to do is pay their $25 dues and attend one meeting.
Following my talk about the dinner club, a member said she and others she knows did not receive notice of the Christmas Dinner and would have attended if they had known. She asked if we had excluded anyone? I assured her that no one had been left out. Every member in good standing who had attended one meeting during the year was welcome at the dinner. Our Secretary Treasurer has sent every member he has an email address several notices about the dinner. I had announced the date on the Lodge page and posted about it a few times leading up to the dinner. I asked Joe to audit his email to ensure he had her email address correctly and to see if there was a reason she did not get it. I advised her that since the email was part of a bulk email, her spam filter may have stopped her from seeing it. The range uses a commercial email service that runs $75 a month. I don’t think the Lodge needs to spend $75 a month when we have both social media and personal email services available for free.
Well, that’s enough for this month.
See you at the February meeting. Come hungry.
Your President,
Jon Grigsby
