Roll Call: Vice President John Centurioni assumed command of the May 10, 2016 of our WOAA meeting. Secretary Mark McDonough, Treasurer Dean Taylor, and Trustee Leroy Lindo, Al Luenow, Jim O’Meara (via conference call), and John Keane were present. President Sally Foster and Trustee Ray Kane were excused.
Approval of the Minutes: Trustee John Keane made a motion to approve the minutes from last month’s meeting. Trustee Leroy Lindo seconded the motion. The motion passed without objection.
Communications and Bills: Treasurer Dean Taylor presented the monthly bills and paid benefits. Trustee John Keane made a motion to pay the bills. Trustee Leroy Lindo seconded the motion. The motion passed without objection.
Report of Visiting Committee: No report this month.
Report of Trustee: We received the sad news that the following members have passed away:
Jim Batchelor, age 73: James Louis Batchelor was born on January 9, 1943 in Spokane, Washington. Prior to joining the San Francisco Police Department, Jim’s prior occupation is listed as ‘insurance Broker’. Jim joined the S.F.P.D. on September 11, 1972 at the age of 29, and wore star #1219.. Jim worked the following units in his career: Richmond Police Station (January 21, 1973), Park Police Station (June 17, 1973), Northern Police Station (December 28, 1975), BCI (February 11, 1976), Potrero Police Station (March 17, 1976), SSB Comm. (March 14, 1977), Taraval Police Station (November 4,1979), Muni Transit (March 10, 1980), Tactical October 26, 1980), Headquarters Company (September 7, 1990), EOD (October 13, 1990), Crime Prevention (September 15, 1996), CPC/TAC (July 9, 1999), CPC/EOD (April 11, 2001). Jim retired with a disability pension on June 30, 2003 after more than 30 years of service to the city. Jim was awarded with a Bronze Medal of Valor for services rendered on Thursday September 17, 1981 at 1:50am when he and his partner Brian D’Arcy on-viewed a physical altercation between two male subjects at Turk and Taylor Streets. The altercation resulted in the one of the men shooting at the other. Batchelor and D’Arcy ran toward the men and ordered them to stop. One suspect with pistol in hand turned toward the officers and pointed his weapon. Batchelor and D’Arcy continued their commands for the suspect to drop the weapon. After a tense and brief moment of hesitation, the suspect complied. It was later learned that the armed suspect, during his shooting spree, had wounded an innocent bystander. For their bravery and restraint, Bachelor and D’Arcy were awarded a Bronze Medal of Valor.
Glenn Swanson, age 87: Glenn Arthur Swanson was born on July 11, 1928 in Eureka, California. Glenn spent his childhood in Fort Bragg, California. Glenn would spend much of his time fishing and exploring nature on Pudding Creek near his home. In 1945 Glenn’s parents Arthur and Selma (Josephson) Swanson moved to San Francisco with Glenn, their only child. Glenn graduated from Washington High School in 1946. Glen married Arlene Malm in 1950 and they had two children, Richard and Lee Ann. Glenn’s previous occupation prior to the San Francisco Police Department is listed as “bookbinder”. Glen entered the S.F.P.D. on February 21, 1955 and wore star #904. Glenn worked the following assignments during his career: Ingleside Police Station (May 2, 1955), Northern Police Station (July 9, 1956), P & R (September 11, 1967). Glenn retired with a service pension on December 26, 1984 after serving more than 29 years in the Department. Glenn was awarded a second grade Medal of Valor for services rendered on August 25, 1959. Glenn and his partner Clement De Amicis arrested three suspects for armed robbery and rape in a house trailer. Glenn and Arlene divorced after 17 years of marriage. Soon thereafter, while standing in line at a bank, Glenn noticed a high school friend Barabara Pomeroy. Glenn and Barbara dated and eventually married on August 8, 1969. Glenn lovingly welcomed Barbara’s children Michael, Dawn, and Lynn to the family. Glenn was a good natured fun loving person who loved nature especially the Redwoods and Richardson Grove. Glenn enjoyed time in Richardson Grove with his family and loved a good card game. Glenn was also known to take gambling trips to Reno. In recent years Glenn and Barbara displayed a passion for dancing and could be found often at Nick’s Rockaway in Pacifica. Glenn and Barbara’s most memorable trips were to Mexico, Hawaii, Canada, and New England. Glenn was a sports fan and loved his 49ers and Giants. Glenn is survived by five children Richard Swanson (Maradee Davis), Lee Ann Leslie (Rick deceased), Michael Richey (Teri), Dawn Guillory (George), and Lynn Burke. Glenn is survived by many grandchildren and great-grandchildren but was preceded in death by his parents.
Jack Wright, age 95: Jack Wright was born in Glenco, Oklahoma in 1921. Jack’s previous occupation is listed simply as “operator”. Jack entered the San Francisco Police Department on November 17, 1947. Jack wore star #350 during his career and worked the following assignments in his 28 plus years in the S.F.P.D. : Taraval Police Station (December 1, 1947), Co.K M/C (July 18, 1949), M/L (October 8, 1950), Mission Police Station (May 9, 1952), Co. K 3Wh (August 11, 1952), Richmond Police Station (January 11, 1961), Crime Lab (June 24, 1968). Jack was promoted to the rank of Inspector on January 1, 1975, and retired with a service pension on June 22, 1976. Jack was awarded a Bronze Medal of Valor for services rendered on January 20, 1972. Jack and his partner Inspector John Barisone arrested four suspects who had killed one person and was in possession of three sawed-off shotguns. One of the shotguns was positively identified as the murder weapon.
Report of Special Committee: No report this month.
Unfinished Business: We discussed our Constitution and By-Law rewrite. This has been a long process that began with past president Robert Mattox in 2013. President Sally Foster will collect all proposals for our rewrite and present them for a vote. We will report monthly on any update until our final proposal is ready for the membership. We are currently in discussion with the City and the SFPCU regarding our raise in dues for 2017. The administrative transition is being worked out on both fronts.
New Business: Our book keeper is working on improving our membership computer roster and will have a new updated roster for us to use. The updates in member’s addresses, contact numbers, and beneficiary(s) are a time consuming task. Members who change their address would greatly benefit the WOAA efforts by notifying us as soon as possible. We often discover a problem by having a bill or a suspension notice returned to us in the mail. We then spend more time, and often a great amount of time, in attempting to locate a lost member. An unsolicited notification would help us greatly.
Good of the Order: No report this month.
Adjournment: Vice President John Centurioni led our Board in a moment of silence for our fallen members. Vice President Centurioni set our next meeting on Tuesday June 14. 2016. The meeting will take place at 850 Bryant Street room #150 at 1:00pm.
To All Members: Please visit our website at ‘sfwidowsandorphans.org’. To make changes of your beneficiary please use or website and click on the ‘Resources’ box on the upper right hand portion of our face page. Click on beneficiary forms and complete the form with all updated information including address, email, and contact information. Mail the form to the P.O. Box. A Beneficiary form is required to have a signature of a Notary, or, a Board Member. Change of address or personal information does NOT need a signature and can be sent to us on the beneficiary form. Our continued thanks goes out to Retired Captain Paul Chignell, David Ng and Captain Nick Rainsford of Personnel, and Sgt. Rachael Kilshaw and Risa Tom of the Police Commission Office for providing us with assistance with locating members, and with department information for our obituary section. I would like to thank the entire Traffic Company for their hospitality and their patience when we conduct business in their lunchroom. I would also like to thank Ray Shine of the Journal for his monthly assistance with our column and his past help with our Constitution and By-Law rewrite.
Submitted by Mark J. McDonough
WOAA Secretary