Jerry DeFoor President HPROA
President's Message

It has been a great privilege being your President for the last two years. This

article is the last one I will write as your President. However, my service

isn’t completely finished. I will serve on the Board as Past President. In that

capacity I will finally be able to cast a vote! As you probably know, the

President can only vote to break a tie vote. There never was a tie during the

last two years, some were very close, but I never got a chance to vote. Now I

can make my voice heard by voting for the issues I stand for.

During these last two years, there have been a lot of good things accomplished.

No one person has ever accomplished anything without the help of others. Any

good that has been achieved has been made possible through the combined

effort of all your elected and appointed HPROA officials, as well as by the hard

work of committee members. And, we must remember the contributions made

by many other unsung folks who consistently volunteer their time, and money,

for the greater good of our fellow retirees and their families. As I look back, I

see that many people have been helped and our pension has been protected.

On the other hand, there have been challenges. The city, without even

discussing this with us, has seen fit to raise our insurance premiums at an

unfairly higher rate than for active employees. The firearms qualifications

process was changed without our being invited to comment or participate in

the decision. Obviously, communication with the various leaders of the City

and other employee organizations haven’t been as consistent as it should have

been. These, as well as others, are issues that need to be resolved.

Our association is a great organization dedicated to representing all retired

Houston police officers and their survivors. This is a serious responsibility.

However, our membership has not grown to include all those retirees who are

eligible. We have had a great Membership Chairman who kept our membership

roles growing. Our new Chairman has just gotten started and we must help

him in this effort. But, regardless of how hard this committee works, there are

some folks, in the DROP, the phase down programs and otherwise, who don’t

seem to know that they are eligible to join. And it seems there are some of our

brother and sister colleagues who are taking a free ride on your dollar. (I hope

they read this article and realize we need their participation.)

I believe the most important attribute to remember about all members of our

organization is that we are all equal veterans of our police department and are

equal members of our pension fund. No one can take that away or change this

reality. We should make every effort to ensure that all our members and their

families are given full and equal respect and consideration. We must strive to

build each other up and support one another. We should respect the memory

of all who have passed on from this world. This is the way to improve the lives

of all by treating each with kindness and respect.

Again, thank you all for your support. My thanks and respect is also given

to my fellow elected and appointed officers. I particularly thank Bill Elkin,

Cathy Buckles, our secretary, and especially Ed Brossman for taking care of

the meeting hall where our membership meeting is held each month. Most

importantly, I thank you for your support of the Houston Police Retired

Officers Association.