President's Corner
March, 2011
Dear CAWP Members,
It has been a pleasure to serve you over the years. When I became a member of this organization, I immediately became a part of the membership committee because of my strong belief that the women officers in Connecticut have a special place in law enforcement. After my service to the membership committee and newsletter committee, I was elected Vice President of the organization where I served separately under Ann Velasco and Toni Rinaldi. I then, with support of many, was elected President of CAWP. I cannot say enough about past and current Executive Board and their fresh ideas, work behind the scenes and their ability to make things happen under pressure. We will always be a team and more importantly, friends that respect each others' knowledge, expertise, ideas, opinions and abilities. We served with dedication in our hearts and with the best interest of CAWP on our minds.
To the Executive Board and committees, only you know how much work truly goes into the backbone of this organization and I appreciate and thank you dearly.
I end my time as the President of CAWP, proud that this organization now has a beautiful and functional website, a recognized Awards Gala, has conducted effective trainings and good fundraising events, as well as paypal capabilities and a re-vamped treasury. Over the last few years my life has taken many turns. Today, I am blessed to be alive, have a tight-knit family, a new position within the Hartford Police Department, have a thriving business and to have had the opportunity to make beautiful connections with many wonderful people through CAWP. I leave this position with the hope that CAWP will continue to blossom. It is my prayer that CAWP's membership increases and that law enforcement as whole benefits from the established professional network that CAWP has created over the years.
Best wishes to the new Executive Board, may you be blessed with wisdom and grace to continue to foster women to enter and to remain in the field of law enforcement. And, to the members of this organization stay safe and live your lives to the fullest.
Humbled by Life,
Karla C. Rodriguez
President of CAWP
November, 2010
Dear Members and website guests,
It is a great honor to serve you and be in a position to help make things happen with CAWP. The definite catch to that is that we need your help, your enthusiasm, and your commitment to taking on small tasks within the organization. Serving on any one of our committees requires a commitment of the heart more than a commitment of your time. Technology and email services keep us busy people buzzing and allow for the E-Board and the committees to meet when it is necessary. All of us have lives outside of CAWP but choose to honor the women who paved the way for us by continuing to move forward into the next 50 years with relentless energy.
It is my hope that if you are a member of CAWP, you will join us in being relentless in breathing new energy into CAWP. If you are not a member, it is my hope that you will join this social network that will bring you training, camaraderie, ambition for promotion, opportunities to help others and valuable resources in the talent bank among our membership. Thank you for protecting our families every day. May you and your families continue to be blessed.
Humbled by the greatness of people,
Karla C. Rodriguez, CAWP President
April, 2010
Dear CAWP members,
It has been an absolute pleasure to serve as your President and take CAWP to new heights. Before becoming president I served on the membership committee where it became clear to me that not enough people knew about CAWP and along with MJ Russell spear-headed a membership drive that brought in nearly 30 new members. As the vice president I served as a liaison for the meetings but also initiated the revitalization of the CAWP website and the conception of the CAWP Newsletter. I also pushed forward with my idea for the CAWP Awards Gala to be held as a separate event than our business meeting so that our women could be honored in the presence of their co-workers and loved ones. As the president all of these efforts continued and as a Board we updated the CAWP bylaws, came up with innovative fundraisers, revitalized the treasury, worked with other organizations, added students as members, given more scholarship money to recipients, provided more training opportunities throughout the year, purchased new merchandise, given out more awards and initiated more public recognition. Our goal has been to change the image of CAWP while maintaining the integrity of the our mission to continue to foster women to enter and to remain in the field of law enforcement. Although, we need your help within your department's to reach out to your fellow co-workers and talk to them about all the wonderful things that we want to make happen in 2010. We are not in the process of lining up free training seminars for CAWP members and non-members in efforts to continue our efforts to shed light on CAWP's positive work and commitment to the law enforcement community.
If you have any ideas or comments, the Executive Board is looking to take all of them into consideration. I remain committed to recruiting women from all over the State of Connecticut to become part of a network of resources that can make you shine brighter as an officer of the law.
With love and respect,
Karla C. Rodriguez, CAWP President
From the December, 2008 Newsletter
Dear CAWP members,
Although it has been some time since the last newsletter, CAWP has been working hard behind the scenes on getting things in order. Big decisions are being made in the Board room; which are all being made so that CAWP may continue to flourish like never before. From ordering new merchandise to revising the bylaws, everyone on the Board is devoting their time and energy to keeping its current membership happy. Our future goal is to find new and innovative ways to recruit new members based on the very principles that were the foundation of CAWP upon its conception.
I am so excited at CAWP's potential and at the surge of energy being breathed into the board. Now, if we can just get our membership to ride the same wave with us…we will be all set. That is the plan folks – the Board is going to try “really hard†to find ways to involve you, draw from your energy, take your suggestions, support each other, and to promote CAWP. We must help each other find ways to make individual marks in this world that reflect that we have lived and not just existed. Better yet, that we made individual marks as members of this awesome organization, The Connecticut Association of Women Police.
With love & respect,
Karla C. Rodriguez, CAWP President
P.S. I look forward to working with all of you in the near future.
