PAX Centurion - September / October 2015

www.bppa.org PAX CENTURION • September/October 2015 • Page 9 Treasury Notes: Robert P. Colburn, BPPA Treasurer Going forward, I pledge to continue to find ways to insure that your money is being well spent at the best possible rate. As always I welcome any suggestions. Please feel free to call me at the office and I would be happy to sit down and listen to your ideas. It’s been a very productive year! H ere we are entering the final quarter of our first year in of- fice. It has been an eventful year to say the least and I am happy to report that it’s been a very productive year as well. We have secured the title to our new home on Freeport Street and have begun to formalize a re- modeling plan with the hopes of having a “housewarming” in the beginning of 2016. Our Shetland Street building is on the market and the proceeds from there will go a long way in funding our renovations of our new Union Hall. We continue to look for ways to streamline our expenses. I am quite pleased to report that through aggressive streamlining of service contracts we have saved the mem- bership over a hundred thousand dollars, be it through bundling of utilities to run our hall or simply shopping for better rates for our dif- ferent insurances. Just tweaking the “Zoo / Museum Pass” program has resulted in savings of tens of thousands of dollars. Going for- ward, I pledge to continue to find ways to insure that your money is being well spent at the best pos- sible rate. As always I welcome any suggestions. Please feel free to call me at the office and I would be happy to sit down and listen to your ideas. As we are finishing out the year, now would be a good time for you to check up on your own state of financial affairs. Depend- ing on your level of income you may wish to look at investing more into your Deferred Compensation or other tax shelter plan. Some- times we overlook how much we have earned and are not prepared when the IRS says “You Owe Us.” Though change is never easy we are grateful for all of the support we have received throughout our first year. It has been so rewarding to see the mem- bership standing up for one another in times of crisis and need. This carries over from not only rallying for our own but to fellow LEO’s across the region and the country. We are so grateful to those members who took the time to assist in our many endeav- ors including but not limited to the New York funerals, theWoundedWarrior Ride and most importantly looking out for our own brother and sister officers. We strongly encourage you to keep up with our fellow members who may be on extended sick or in- jured leave. It never hurts to check in with a phone call or maybe grab a cup of coffee or lunch.You never know, some day it could be you who would welcome that call. So pick up the phone and check in. And if you are one our members who have been out for a while, call us at the office. We would love to hear from you. The phone line goes both ways. I have been asked by members to start a BPPA Charitable Foundation. I am reaching out to all members for suggestions, ideas or charities that are nearest and dearest to their hearts. We have a few ideas modeled after the Fire Department’s “fill the boot” for Muscular Dystrophy. This would be in addition to the other community events we attend and sponsor. The BPPA’s canteen truck has been rolling out just about every weekend at community events and BPPA events. We are barely able to keep up with the re- quests and its the same six to eight volunteers at every event. Please consider helping out. I would like to give a big THANKYOU to Phyllis Fan- del, owner of Doughboy Donuts. Phyllis graciously donated the coffee, pastries, bagels and donuts to the BPPA sponsored event in Charlestown supporting Marine Sergeant Toran Gaal on his ride across America on July 22nd. Toran started his journey in CA and concluded inArlingtonVA at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Toran Gaal lost both his legs fighting for our country inAfghani- stan. Doughboy is always willing to assist the community and the BPPA. Scholarship Forms are out. Don’t forget to turn yours in. Christmas is right around the corner! There are only 61 of the commemorative challenge coins left. They are a great stocking stuffer. Don’t miss out. In closing, I would like to say that going forward our finances are strong and our financial outlook is stronger. Remember our doors are always open and you are ALWAYSWELCOME. We strongly encourage you to keep up with our fellow members who may be on extended sick or injured leave. It never hurts to check in with a phone call or maybe grab a cup of coffee or lunch. You never know, some day it could be you who would welcome that call. So pick up the phone and check in. And if you are one our members who have been out for a while, call us at the office. We would love to hear from you. The phone line goes both ways.