The First Week

The First Week

I’m tempted to say “I survived” but that would indicate that I was under duress and I wasn’t. Everyone here was kind and helpful and made me feel very welcome. I met so many people but I did a better than usual job of keeping up, and the world gets smaller. I went to the Muskegon Sheriff’s office and the receptionist graduated from Belding HS in ‘86 and somehow remembered me. 8-o

I’ve had morning break and lunch with “the guys” a few times this week. I also spent a few hours in a patrol car with a couple of them. They are a close knit group and are friends away from work as well and it seems like that enjoy their jobs and have a lot of fun. I invited myself to Wednesday basketball with them.

Travis (the school resource officer), Chris (dayshift patrol), Scott (City Manager), Bill and Brian (Central Dispatch) and Jason and Mike (Travis’s friends) were all there. We played in an elementary gym with 7’6” rims and a short court. I had a blast once I stopped being afraid of hitting my face on the rim.

Wednesday I went out and qualified at the range. There was about 8 inches of snow on the ground which made picking up my clips an adventure and forget about the brass. I did fine with the gun but I DO NOT like the holster I have. That will get fixed.

I’ve been settling into my office and putting things where I want them. (see photos) The biggest task has been going through the files in the office. I found some outdated files like the firearms standard from 1975 and a request from the State Police for information from 2005. I’ve also started looking at the budget to see if I can buy some things that I want for the PD like Tasers, and some RMS licenses. It’s a lot different now than just saying, “Hey Chief, I want ____,”

Tuesday we had a staff trivia contest. Scott made up the questions and the rest of City Hall staff had to answer. That included Pat (receptionist for PD and CH), Karen (City Clerk), Lori (Treasurer), Sandy (Deputy Treasurer) and Katie (Playhouse Manager). It was Bret Farve trivia and Katie is a big Green Bay fan but I won on the bonus question.

It really is an adjustment to move from the front lines to the back but I’m already excited about the challenges to come and ready for week 2. More later.