The monthly meeting of the Widows and Orphans Aid Association of the San Francisco Police Department, was called to order on Tuesday June 10, 2014. The meeting was held as scheduled at 850 Bryant Street in room# 150 at 1:42 pm.
Roll Call of Officers: President Al Luenow, Vice President John Keane, Secretary Mark McDonough, Treasurer Dean Taylor and Trustees Sally Foster, John Centurioni, Ray Kane, and Joe Reilly were present. Trustee Leroy Lindo was excused.
Approval of the Minutes: Trustee John Centurioni made a motion to approve the May 2014 meeting’s minutes. The motion was seconded by Trustee Joy Reilly and passed without objection.
Receiving Applications for New Members; Suspensions and Reinstatements: Trustee Ray Kane and I responded to the San Francisco Police Academy and presented the 241st Recruit Class with an opportunity to apply for WOAA membership. We signed-up forty-one recruits. Twelve recruits chose to retain the paperwork and make a decision at a later time.
Trustee Joe Reilly made a motion to reinstate the following dropped members from January. The following members paid their back dues and are eligible for Reinstatement:
Nancy Brewer, James Gratz, Kim LaSalle, Lance Martin, Darby Reid, and Dagmar Strand.
Trustee John Centurioni seconded the motion which passed unopposed. The members now stand as reinstated in good standing in the WOAA. We sincerely hope to have all dropped members submit their payments and late fees for membership reinstatement.
2014 Dues and Suspensions: I was provided with three lists. One list has the names of members who have not paid their 2014 dues. There are 52 names on this list. Eight of the members have paid. Sixteen members on the list have had contact with me and have stated that they will send in their dues. I have not heard from the other 28 members on this list. The members on the first list have until June 30th to pay their dues. If we do not receive dues the members will have their membership suspended (per the constitution and by-laws of the WOAA). Paul Chignell of the POA sent out notices to all the names on the list. The second list contains the names of Recently Retired Members who are now off Payroll Deposit. This list contains 24 names with new names being added each month. This newly retired member list requires that they send in the remainder of their 2014 dues pro-rated for their contributions from payroll deposit. The members on this list have 6 months to pay the remainder of their dues for 2014 to avoid membership suspension. The third list contains the names of members who were dropped in January, and have since paid their dues to be reinstated (see above).
Communications and Bills: Trustee John Centurioni made a motion to pay our monthly bills, and our death benefits for the beneficiary of Joe Hession and Ray Bini. We also incurred a one hour attorney fee to the Law Offices of Kurt D. Huysentruyt for a review of the labor code which regulates beneficiary rights relating to new marriages with no beneficiary update. Trustee Ray Kane seconded the motion which passed without objection.
Report of Visiting Committee: Vice President John Keane and I attended the Rosary for fallen member and current San Francisco Police Officer Hector Basurto. The Rosary service took place at Duggan’s Mortuary on 17th street and Valencia in San Francisco. Father Joseph Flynn conducted the Rosary while Hector’s son Michael spoke on behalf of his father. There were other attendees who read prayers while a running slide video depicted Hector with family and friends in joyful moments throughout his life. Commander John J. Garrity and Captain John J. Feeney topped the list of high ranking members of the SFPD who attended the Rosary. I did not attend the Funeral which was highly attended by members of the San Francisco Police Department and its Command Staff. Hector Basurto was assigned to the Property Control Section while I served as the Unit’s Supervisor. Hector was in charge of the narcotics intake, storage, and destruction. Hector did an exemplary job showing responsibility, concern, professionalism, and flexibility while taking control of his assignment. Hector worked with members of the SFPD, members of his unit, and members’ of the The District Attorney’s Office. Hector balanced issues between the Legal Office and the District Attorney’s Office as the Liaison Officer in spearheading efforts for evidence destruction. I have the utmost respect for Hector as a Police Officer, and for his spirit and demeanor which was always positive. I will miss his personable friendly demeanor, and his sense of humor most of all.
Report of Trustees: The following members passed away and were reported for May/June 2014.
Hector Basurto age 47: Hector was born on 11-16-66, to Leonel and Maria Basurto. Hector entered the San Francisco Police Department on 4-23-96 and completed his FTO phase at Mission Police Station. Hector was assigned to Star #11. Hector worked at the following units during his 18 year career: TTF (97), Southern Police Station (9-13-97), return to TTF (11-22-97), to the Property Control Section (6-13-09) where he remained until his unexpected and sad passing. Hector had been involved in a freak vehicular accident when his foot was run over by a Radio Car during the performance of his duties on an in-progress incident. Hector’s foot and leg were never the same, however, he returned to work after two stints of physical therapy to continue his service. Hector was dedicated to his community as a member of the Latino Police Officers Association, and served as the President for several years. Hector is survived by his mother Maria Basurto, his wife Monica Basurto, and his sons Michael and Kristopher Basurto, all of Antioch, California.
Raymond Bini age 82: Ray Bini was born on 4-15-31 in San Francisco, California. Ray was a graduate of Mission High School in San Francisco. Prior to entering the SFPD, Ray was a member of the United States Marine Corp and served from 1948 to 1952. Ray’s previous occupation was a Bus Driver. Ray entered the San Francisco Police Department on 1-16-54 and was assigned to Academy Class #76 and Star# 1812. Ray completed a 30 year career in the SFPD and retired with a service pension in January of 1984. During his 30 year career, Ray worked at one unit, that being the Company K Traffic Bureau. Ray left the academy in March of 1954 and went straight to Company K where he a found a home for the next 29 plus years. Ray is survived by his wife Mary, his son Michael D. Bini, and his daughter Julie D. Bini.
William F. Schmidt age 81: William Fred Schmidt was born on 12-27-32 in San Francisco, California. William attended James Lick Jr. High School, and graduated from Mission High School in 1950. William attended San Francisco State College for two years before joining the United States Navy in 1952. William was honorably discharged in 1956 after serving in Hawaii and Japan. William married Marian Martorana in 1958. William was listed as being in the “trades” prior to entering the SFPD. William entered the San Francisco Police Department on 7-1-59 and was assigned to Star# 561. William completed his Academy training on 10-06-59 and was assigned to Potrero Police Station. William was transferred to Park Police Station on 90-5-60, and later to Mission Police Station on 5-21-61. William’s final assignment was to the Solo Motorcycle Unit at Company K on 2-15-65 where he remained until he was forced to retire with a disability pension on 10-19-66, after a terrible accident in May of 1965. William received three Meritorious Awards in his career. One in October of 1961(Robbery of a Tavern) when he was directly involved in an arrest of 3 armed Robbery suspects, and the other in January of 1963 for direct involvement of an arrest of 4 armed Robbery suspects (Robbery of a Safeway Store). William also received a meritorious award for an arrest of a Child Molestation suspect in June of 1964. William later joined the Santa Clara County Courts and served as a Bailiff for 15 years. William is survived by Marian, his wife of more than 56 years, and his children Sandra Cox, Karen Kunzel, and Randy Schmidt, and five grandchildren.
Report of Special Committee: Trustee Sally Foster has been sending floral arrangements to the families of our fallen members. The WOAA has received numerous positive responses for Sally’s diligent work.
Unfinished Business: Our mailing of yearly bills to retired members who do not participate in Direct Deposit will be handled by” Direct Mailing”. Trustee Joe Reilly has worked with this company in the past and reported positive results in the mass-mailing for our members. We continue to urge retired members to opt for “Direct Deposit” at their bank or financial institution. It is much easier to have your yearly dues of $72.00 sent to us every January by your choice of financial institution. Direct Deposit forms can be obtained on our website “sfwidowsandorphans.org”. Access the site and click on the resources box on the upper right side of the tool bar. If you have any issues accessing the forms, contact me at my email address which is listed below.
New Business: The WOAA board has approved the creation of a new application form for incoming S.F. Police Academy Recruits. Our current forms are very outdated and were in need of modifications. Julie Centurioni (spouse of Trustee John Centurioni) has created the new modified form which reflects our current payroll administration process and presents a much clearer and less confusing form to the applicant.
Good of the Association: No report.
Adjournment: President Luenow moved for a moment of silence for our fallen members. President Luenow then set our next meeting for July 8, 2014 at 1:45pm. The meeting will be held at 850 Bryant St, Hall of Justice room# 150.
All Members: Please visit our website at “sfwidowsandorphans.org”. Members can access beneficiary forms when clicking on the “resources” box on the upper rights side of the toolbar. Use the form for any beneficiary change. Any change must have it either notarized by a Notary, or witnessed by a board member. Please use this form to make any address or contact number changes. Send the forms, and dues if you are delinquent, to WOAA, P.O. Box 880034, SF,Ca 94188. Our contact telephone number is 415 681-3660. Missed calls with NO VOICEMAIL MESSAGE will not be returned. Email me at “markmac825@comcast.net” with any questions or requests.
We are nearing our 6 month period for 2014 which MANDATES us to suspend any members who has not paid their dues for the 6 month period. We are also mandated to print the names of the suspended members in the POA Journal Article. Please help us avoid this step of the process by mailing us your dues, if you are late, to the P.O. Box listed above. Suspended members have an additional 6 months to pay their dues with an added late fee of $5 per month. Any member who has not paid their dues for one year will be dropped from the membership, and we are mandated to print the names. Treasurer Dean Taylor and I have the unenviable task of trying to locate non dues-paying members. Paul Chignell of the POA has provided us with his invaluable assistance by using his address book to notify our members to contact us. We need members to update their address and contact numbers which we will enter into our database. We owe Paul a huge debt of gratitude for his concern and assistance in attempting to contact members for their best interest. I have experienced a great number of calls and emails from members due to Paul’s efforts. I am receiving a high volume of beneficiary changes and updated personal information from members. I also want to thank outgoing and incoming Captains Bill Roualdes and Troy Dangerfield in Personnel respectively, for their assistance in provident employment information for our obituary section (Report of Trustees), and to Inspector John Monroe of the Police Commission Office who provides information of awards and meritorious conduct that we also use in our obituary section for fallen members.
To All Active SFPD Members: The WOAA, after attempting to meet with the Controller’s Office since 2012, finally met with Representative Debra Nebreda on Friday June 13, 2014. The meeting was called by Treasurer Dean Taylor and was attended by President Luenow, Secretary McDonough, and Trustees Lindo and Reilly. Beginning in January 2015, ALL ACTIVE SFPD MEMBERS OF THE WOAA WILL HAVE A “ONCE A YEAR” DUES PAYMENT IN JANUARY. PLEASE CHECK YOUR PAYROLL RECORD EVERY JANUARY FOR THE $72.00 DEDUCTION. All retired members pay their dues in January. This will keep our payment structure consistent for a lifetime, and will assist our administration and accounting responsibilities in a very positive manner. Please assist us in this transition by completing the new payroll deduction form and returning it as soon as possible. The forms will be mailed throughout the summer season.
Mark J. McDonough
Secretary/WOAA