Chief Pam Church Installed as President of WSCPA

Fifty years after former Western Springs police chief Charles F. Peterson took office as the first president of the West Suburban Chiefs of Police Association, current Western Springs chief Pam Church became the organization's 50^th at a 50^th-anniversary banquet held in McCook on Friday night.

Church is the fourth Western Springs police chief to be elected as the association's president, and the first woman to hold the position. All four of Western Springs' chiefs since the 60's (Peterson, George Graves, William Rypkema and Church) have now served as WSCPA presidents.

"I'm honored to be not only the 50^th president, but also the Association's first female president," Church said. "It's a coveted position, believe me."

With about 150-200 members, spouses and elected officials in attendance, Church spoke of her journey from the Downers Grove police department, where she began as a patrol officer in the mid-80's, to chief of Western Springs for the past four and a half years.

She offered special thanks to Rick Ginex, a former chief of Downers Grove who helped her through a rough incident early in her career, Graves, under whose leadership she worked for 16 years, Robert Porter, current police chief of Downers Grove, and Marion Heintz, a personal friend and Downers Grove's Crime Prevention Manager.

Church emphasized that a key part of her yearlong tenure would be encouraging more participation from the organization's members.

"During the next year I'm committed to gathering the full support and participation of our membership," she said to the assembly. "Our greatest assets are the members themselves. Therefore, I encourage elected officials to sport your chiefs' attendance at our monthly meetings so that they may continue to exchange ideas and identify common issues of concern to all of us."

The West Suburban Chiefs of Police Association was founded in 1960 and serves, among other purposes, as an advisory body to legislative officials representing the concerns of police departments in the near-western Chicago suburbs. Its 175 members from 35 departments also contribute to a number of charitable causes, including the Children's Advocacy Center, Toys for Tots, the Special Olympics, scholarships and memorial contributions to families of fallen officers.

Village President William Rodeghier also attended the ceremony, speaking briefly to commend Church, and presenting her with a floral bouquet courtesy of "the people of Western Springs."

"[Pam] was one of the best hires the village ever made," Rodeghier said afterwards. "We're very proud of her; she's done a wonderful job. People respect her, her officers respect her; she's a great leader, and she deserves all the accolades she gets."

"Sometimes you meet people, and you just know, I call it the 'got it'—she had it," agreed former chief Graves. "She's got the enthusiasm, the energy, and the interest in her profession—and the talent." (Graves also spoke on the Western Springs Police Department's behalf at their recent CALEA accreditation hearing.) 

As the event marked the organization's 50^th anniversary, there were a number of congratulatory letters and speeches, as well as a cop-TV trivia challenge and a prize raffle. La Grange police chief Michael Houlb, serving as emcee, presented a slideshow of all 50 presidents of the association.

"She's a very dynamic individual and I see her reaching out and grabbing some people and saying, 'haven't seen you in a meeting for a while, it's about time to come back,'" Houlb predicted.

For more on the event, check out additional coverage at La Grange Patch.