Soup Sunday was held at the FedEx Forum. Soups, desserts, and breads from 46 different restaurants are served to raise funds to support Youth Villages an organization offering help to over 22,000 emotionally and behaviorally troubled children each year. Our members helped serve food, provide hospitality to attendees, and helped clean up at the event.
Bennie Cobb, former captain with the Shelby County Sheriff’s Department spoke on how each of us could be more effective in our neighborhoods and community in crime prevention.
Jimmy Ogle, our local county historian, shared unique stories, facts, and information about the history of the Memphis area. Topics included the riverfront’s development over the years, the architecture of the city, as well as the day Martin Luther King was assassinated. Jimmy is a walking Memphis encyclopedia.
Torian Harris, criminal investigator for the TN Department of Environment and Conservation, enlightened us as to how large the problem of illegal dumping is in the Memphis and Shelby County area and what criminal charges can be brought on those who violate the rules of safely disposing of trash and causing environmental hazards.
In addition to the health fair, attendees learned about community safety. This is a well-attended event in which we distributed information about cyber security, anti-bullying , and the FBI Child ID App.
This month’s member meeting was held at the Memphis FBI offices. Special Agent Ryan Arton spoke to our members about the behavioral analysis of criminals and the five divisions of the Behavioral Analysis Unit in in Quantico. He also spoke about the support this unit provides to local law enforcement throughout the United States.
Thirteen of our members attended CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) training. The classes taught basic search and rescue techniques, very basic first aid, and ways to help first responders should a disaster strike in our area. We also learned how to prepare our own disaster emergency kits for our homes and cars.
While the Train Day event is geared toward educating the community about life working on the railroad, the importance of trains on the Memphis economy and train safety, our group has found this to be a very successful way to educate children and parents about crime prevention due to the large numbers of event attendees who take home FBI activity booklets, anti-bullying information, drug abuse information, and learn about the FBI’s Child ID App.
Special Agents from two major cargo railroads told about the Memphis intermodal facilities and their efforts to keep cargo theft down when the trains are stopped no matter where they are in Memphis, throughout Tennessee and the surrounding states. We also learned about the roles they play in investigating any accidents involving trains and the rapid response the railroad has for cleaning up accidents involving property damage.
The Memphis Division FBI co -sponsored a one day Civil Rights and Hate Crimes conference at the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis. Alumni members who attended learned about civil rights, hate crimes, and domestic terrorism. We also heard a fascinating presentation by Christian Picciolini a former Skinhead, who spoke about how he became a skinhead and how he later turned his life around to speak against the hate crimes he had participated in.
The Memphis division Citizens Academy classes were held during September with the Alumni Association providing meals before each class.
Members of the alumni association attended Range Day with the FBI Citizens Academy and provided lunch for the attendees. SWAT and sniper demonstrations were given and an opportunity was provided to participate in virtual crime scenarios to test our judgement on justified and non-justified shooting.
Alumni also attended the Citizens Academy graduation held at one of the local country clubs. Graduation plaques and lapel pins were provided by the Alumni Association to each graduate.
This year was our second year to participate in this event that is held after the school’s PTA meeting. Good nutrition, good health and safety are emphasized at the displays presented by multiple local organizations. Our members supplied information on the FBI Child ID App, safe on-line surfing, and anti-bullying to both the children and their parents.
Alumni Association Board elections were held before our member meeting at the Drug Enforcement Administration. Our board expanded by two new members after the elections. For our member meeting SAC David Turner told about his work with the DEA through the years. He also told about the DEA’s efforts to intercept drug deliveries whether on the roads or through mail delivery and the success they have had in recent years.
Another effort by the alumni association was sponsoring academically achieving, but environmentally challenged high school students as they went on field trips to learn about various companies and the jobs they offer. These students are challenged by the lack of parenting or parental support when trying to achieve high academic goals. We also sponsored a team of junior high school students as they competed in a regional competition to build the best robot.
