Demand Excellence!

Excellence: the quality of being outstanding or extremely good.

Demand it, because if you’re reading this, you are likely a LVPPA member and you deserve nothing less. I’m writing this article in early June, as our July/August Vegas Beat issue deadline has arrived. By the time you read this, the membership (you) should have chosen their (your) new Executive Director. Whoever that person may be, they have a challenging agenda ahead of them. There is no excuse for status quo or mediocrity, because there is too much at stake. The focus should be on what is good for the membership, not oneself or a small group of people. From time to time, leaders may lose their direction or sway from what they have promised to do. That’s never OK and absolutely unacceptable! How do we prevent this from happening in the future? Choose carefully, ask questions, monitor closely and demand excellence. Ronald Reagan had a saying: “Trust, but verify.” I think that applies here too.

A few of the most important issues we will be dealing with in short order are:

  1. The revision of our bylaws in an attempt to prevent any future shenanigans
  2. Interpreting and applying new changes in the NRS created by the Nevada Legislature as they apply to the Association and our membership
  3. The composition of the Executive Board and potential changes related to compensation
  4. Preparing for contract negotiations for fiscal year 2016–2017

All of these issues are extremely important to you, to me and to our entire Association. The members of our current Board of Directors have proven that they are engaged, willing and able to make tough decisions, as we witnessed with our “internal issue” last month. I’m confident that they will not let us down as we move forward in navigating some uncharted waters. We have witnessed the “wolves” who seek to destroy everything we’ve worked for all these years. As we push the boundaries and strive to make our working conditions, benefits and salary better, your membership has never been more crucial than it is now. As always, thank you for your continued support, and be safe!

Police Officer Mark Chaparian
Executive Director