Thank You All So Much!
As I wrote my final article, I knew it had to begin with a thank you to our amazing membership.
I must thank all of you, and the many officers before you, who placed their trust in me and elected me to the PPA Board of Directors in 2006. Serving six years on the Board of Directors and more than 14 years on the Executive Board has truly been one of the greatest honors of my life. It has been my privilege to serve all of you for the last 20 years, and I hope I met your expectations. I always took great pride in my work on contracts and in helping ensure that our officers remained among the highest-paid in the country.
Over the years, I have been through many battles. Looking back, I remember fights over coffee pots and microwaves at the jail, the civil service battle when a nasty county commissioner wanted to cut officer pay by $20,000 per year, mandated overtime in both the jail and on the street, getting POs to work jail overtime, mandatory body armor, and, of course, body-worn cameras. There were a lot of important fights over the years, and a lot of victories.
Know this: there is an outstanding group of new leaders taking over this association. Starting with Dan Coyne, Joel Blasco, Padilla Mills, and Derrick Eliason, this team is going to make your representation better than ever. As difficult as it is to leave a job that I love, and what I believe is the best police department in the country, I know you will all be in good hands. That makes my departure much easier.
I need to thank a few more people for the sacrifices they made for all of you. My daughters, Amanda and Shawna, along with my wife, Lisa, and youngest daughter, Avery, gave up so much while I was out fighting for our members. Countless dinners were interrupted by phone calls and text messages from members. Callouts pulled me away from more family events than I can count. They also had to listen to me vent (yell) about frustrations with discipline, terminations that made no sense, and the stress of contract negotiations.
I can't say I would do anything differently because I loved my job so much, and I loved helping all of you. So, would I do it all over again? Absolutely.
I also want to thank Sheriff Kevin McMahill for his excellent leadership in making this department a great place to work. Kevin has assembled the best management team that I've worked with during my career, and we are very fortunate to have a sheriff who listens and who truly cares about his officers.
Please remember to take care of each other on every call, every car stop, and every walkthrough. Do the job the way it was meant to be done, and never tarnish the badge.
Please be safe, and thank you again for trusting me.
Scott Nicholas Logging off for the final time on July 10, 2026