Dallas County Sheriff's Association
A message from your Board Chairman
Friends and Colleagues,
As some of you already know, this will be my final year serving on the Board of Directors for the Dallas County Sheriffs Association. Family and other external obligations have reached a point where “something has got to give”, and regretfully, this position will have to be it. I am very confident that those who are about to step forward and seek election to this Board will do so with the same dedication and positive direction I have tried to apply during my time of service for this organization.
I wanted to take this final opportunity to express my appreciation not only to those that I have had the privilege to serve with, but to the entire membership. I leave this post knowing that we are still the largest single organization within the Department. And I also know that our statewide affiliate, TMPA, now has its largest single Department representation here in our ranks. I am very proud of both of these facts, and congratulate all who are a part of it.
I would also like to take this moment to express some final notes and concerns that I hope will be heeded concerning the future of not only this organization, but for the entire Department:
First, as members of this largest and oldest organization, I implore the members to become as active as possible. I know this request is not new, but I feel the need to remind all that your voice is heard the loudest by those who recognize the number of officers we represent. Representation through numbers is what gives us the opportunity to accomplish the tasks that members demand and deserve.
Second, I again ask the membership to be as supportive as possible of all the events and endeavors that your new Board offers to you. We have worked hard to restore some of the old traditional expectations, such as the Summer Picnic and the Christmas Dinner, and have also started a new successful tradition with our annual golf tournament. These events offer our
Department something I feel we all desperately need, which is a regular opportunity to socialize together and maintain a positive relationship amongst all levels of our staff and personnel. Positive contact and communication can only serve to keep us strong as a Department. That type of contact rarely comes out at the workplace. Take advantage of this time as much as possible to fill in the gaps that we need to bridge.
Third, I will continue to maintain my Director position with TMPA. As we all know, this organization provides us with some of the more important services we continue to need in this line of work. With your support, I can make sure that our voice continues to be heard within this statewide organization. TMPA is recognized as the most influential and respected police organization in our state, and I hope you will continue to make sure that we are as strong a participant as we can possibly be in their activities as well.
Lastly, I want to address a concern that seems to be appearing on our horizon. We are hearing that some in our current Administration are pushing for and attempting to encourage a separation among us. For as long as I have served on this Board, I have strived to maintain parity between our Detentions group and our sworn officer ranks. Whenever an issue was brought forward, the decision I made was always based on what was right for EVERYONE in the Department, and not for what benefited one side or the other. And we have always encouraged the ideal of having equal representation on the Board as well. We are now hearing that some would attempt to destroy our ability to provide equal representation by creating another separate organization comprised only of Detention personnel. I cannot express loudly and emphatically enough how wrong this would be. We have all worked hard to maintain unity among our selves as officers within this Department. We have also strived to make sure that those that have attained the position of sworn officers continue to remember where their career began. To allow administration or any other entity to break us apart in such a manner would destroy the most essential that we as officers in this Department have- Unity. To do anything that breaks this down does nothing more than weaken and/or destroy us as a Department. I hope that all can recognize what a disaster this would be for not only this organization, but the Department as well. We fought hard to get away from the prior
Administrations attempt to break us down and we prevailed. I sincerely hope that we don’t waste that effort by allowing others to continue the separation process.
I will close by saying that my career has always been about making a positive contribution in as many ways as possible. I have always considered holding a position on this Board as an honor, and I am proud to know that I have served you all to the best of my ability. I sincerely hope that you all feel the same way.
Regards,
Greg Porter