From the Field

Assisting Those in Need Remains Focus of FDSA

My first few months as executive director of FDSA have been a real pleasure. The opportunity to meet with sheriffs and deputies to discuss the important work we are doing has confirmed my decision to accept this exciting position.

Even though I have been involved with the Florida Sheriffs Association for seven years and was charged in 2008 to help establish and manage an association dedicated to serving the unique needs of Florida’s deputies, I have an even greater appreciation for the work of deputies and the need to protect them.  I am incredibly proud of what FDSA has become, serving 6,500 members with insurance and legal protections that were simply not available before.

But now we are looking toward the future, looking for even more ways to protect deputies with new products and services. We will be offering more training, enhancing our benefits packages and looking for new opportunities to stay involved. And we will always be there when you need us.

While we will be spending more time in Sheriffs’ Offices around the state, we will also be walking the halls of the Capitol in Tallahassee, increasing our advocacy efforts with a more active legislative agenda that will include an aggressive defense of our special risk allowance in the Florida Retirement System. We will also be there next year as discussion increases on issues such as body cameras and the use of force. We will be there to both monitor and advocate for our members.

As proud as I am of these efforts, there is nothing more rewarding than the opportunity to come alongside the family of a deputy in their time of greatest need. The FDSA Lend A Hand program was designed to provide immediate help for the family of a deputy who has been disabled or lost their life in the line of duty or otherwise. Instead of sending flowers and a card, we arrive at the family home with a check – often the very same day the incident occurs.

Lend-A-Hand does not use taxpayer dollars or even funds collected through FDSA membership dues. The program is funded entirely by the generosity of individuals, corporate partners and Sheriffs Offices that have collected money intended for this noble purpose. We also could not have had such a significant impact without help from our partner Sprint, which has donated more than $50,000 over the last two years through its designated phone service plan. We are very grateful for their support and commitment to FDSA and our members.

As a CPA, I have always been focused on the numbers, but these are the numbers I‘m focused on now.

  • 1 Hamilton County deputy sheriff to whose family we paid his annual salary when he was killed in a car crash earlier this year.
  • 1 Clay County retired deputy sheriff to whose family we paid $20,000 when he was killed in a car crash.
  • 2 deputies shot or injured in the line of duty in Putnam and Taylor counties.
  • 2 deputies in Leon and Orange counties whose families we assisted with cash payments to help with final expenses when they were killed in the line of duty.
  • 8 deputies in Bradford, Charlotte, Clay, Manatee, Orange, Walton and Washington counties to whom we paid travel or related costs for them or their families with dire medical cases or surgeries.
  • 5 deputies in Bradford, Franklin, Gadsden and Marion counties we helped following a tragedy, such as death of a family member or home fire.

Thanks to you, we are putting dollars in families’ hands when they need it most. And while I hope we never need to use it again, I know we will, and I know that we will be able to meet those needs at those very crucial times.

The FDSA is impacting lives, and I am proud to be a part of it.