President’s Message – Fall 2015

As you read this, the summer has passed and the Fall is upon us. This is an exciting time for Italian Americans and for the Italian American Police Society of New Jersey. As you know October is Italian Heritage Month in the State of New Jersey. It is the time of year when we all demonstrate our Italian pride through events and festivals. As always our organization will proudly march in the Morris County Columbus Day Parade in East Hanover and the New York City Columbus Day Parade. We always look forward to joining our brothers and sisters from the NYPD Columbia Association for a magnificent event and parade. This year I hope that you join us with your family members to show your pride in law enforcement and your Italian heritage.

We would also like to thank our friends in the New Jersey State Senate for recognizing the Italian American Police Society of NJ on the floor of the State Senate Chambers in Trenton.   Italian Americans are a huge voting block in New Jersey but are often forgotten by our leaders.  As the President of the largest Italian American organization in our state I salute those in the Senate who stand in solidarity with us in saluting our accomplishments.

As the holidays approach, I invite you to help us brighten the Christmas of the less fortunate.  Again this year the Italian American Police Society of New Jersey will hold a party for Big Brothers and Big Sisters of New Jersey. This event will be held on Saturday, December 15th at noon at the Whippany American Legion. Please come in uniform if possible and help distribute the toys, clothes and food along with “Santa and Mrs. Claus”. I also invite members to bring their children and grandchildren to this outstanding event.

Since my last President’s Message I have had the privilege of attending meetings of the Southern Connecticut Italian American Police Society in Norwalk as well as the Hartford, CT Italian Officers Association. These organizations are doing such fantastic work in their communities and I am proud to stand in solidarity with them.  I also continue to work with various ethnic police fraternal organizations in New Jersey. We work closely with them on so many issues of mutual concern for police officers.

Finally, I implore you to be careful as you perform your duties protecting the communities of New Jersey. I am constantly reminded by a close friend in law enforcement of the importance of not being complacent in our daily routines. As you know, now more than ever, being a law enforcement officer is dangerous. So many of our fallen brothers and sisters have lost their lives only because of the badge and uniform that they wore. Please be careful and ALWAYS wear your vest. I am proud to serve as the President of the finest law enforcement organization in New Jersey. Please do not hesitate to contact me if I can be of assistance to you at any time.  I look forward to seeing you at upcoming meetings and events and hope that you become more involved in your organization.

Fraternally yours,

William Schievella, President