Being There

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NEW EPISODE: Pre-Approval Costs

The Mortgage Beat is live with an all-new episode featuring John Aretos, CEO, Police Mortgage, created For First Responders Who Are Second to None!

To hear the episode, please visit: https://policemortgage.com/mortgage-beat-episodes/.

#PoliceMortgage #Mortgage #FirstResponders #LawEnforcement #EverybodyGoesHomeLetsGetHomeTogether

NEW EPISODE: Pre-Approval Costs

The Mortgage Beat is live with an all-new episode featuring John Aretos, CEO, Police Mortgage, created For First Responders Who Are Second to None!

To hear the episode, please visit: policemortgage.com/mortgage-beat-episodes/.

#PoliceMortgage #mortgage #firstresponders #lawenforcement #everybodygoeshomeletsgethometogether
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2 days ago

National Police Credit Union is honored to welcome the Merrillville Police Department (Indiana) into our field of membership. We look forward to serving you and your families. ... See MoreSee Less

3 days ago
Congratulations! Thank you! Stay safe!Image attachmentImage attachment+8Image attachment

Congratulations! Thank you! Stay safe! ... See MoreSee Less

3 days ago
We will Never Forget.

We will Never Forget.Today we remember and honor Everett Police Department Officer, Dan Rocha. Officer Rocha lost his life in the line of duty on this day in 2022. Gone but not forgotten. ... See MoreSee Less

3 days ago
Congratulations!! Stay safe!

Congratulations!! Stay safe!Help us congratulate Officer Gualbert Button, our newest TMPA member at the Kennedale Police Department! 🚔 Sworn in Friday among family, friends, and peers, his journey from the Philippines, academic achievements, and previous police service set the stage for his new role.

Again, congratulations brother, we are eager to see you succeed! #TMPAFamily #KennedalePD
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3 days ago
Thank you for your service, K9 Drago!
Congratulations, Sgt. Jorge! Stay safe!

Thank you for your service, K9 Drago!
Congratulations, Sgt. Jorge! Stay safe!Drago will spend his retirement days at Sgt. Jorge's home enjoying family and fun times. K9 Drago has retired from the Essex County Sheriff's Department after serving since 2018. His partner K9 Sgt. Leonardo Jorge has been promoted to their Investigations Unit.
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3 days ago
Happy birthday, K9 Freya!

Happy birthday, K9 Freya!Happy birthday to K9 Freya of the Grand County Sheriff's Office - Colorado. ... See MoreSee Less

3 days ago
Congratulations and thank you! Stay safe!Image attachmentImage attachment+2Image attachment

Congratulations and thank you! Stay safe! ... See MoreSee Less

3 days ago
💙💙💙💙

💙💙💙💙Cute, a future police officer posing for a photo with the Troy Police Department. ... See MoreSee Less

7 days ago
Congratulations and thank you! Stay safe!Image attachmentImage attachment

Congratulations and thank you! Stay safe! ... See MoreSee Less

7 days ago
Welcome and thank you! Stay safe!

Welcome and thank you! Stay safe!The Lincoln Township Police Department would like to take this opportunity to welcome Officer Brock Emery to the department. Officer Emery is a local resident and is a graduate of Lakeshore Public Schools. Officer Emery attended Kalamazoo Valley Community College and then Madonna University. After college, Officer Emery enlisted in the Army. During his time in the Army, Officer Emery was involved in the Presidential Escort Detail and the Caisson Platoon. Officer Emery is married and currently lives here in Lincoln Township. Welcome Officer Emery. ... See MoreSee Less

1 week ago
Welcome and thank you! Stay safe!

Welcome and thank you! Stay safe!We are so excited to welcome the inaugural Members of
The Ennis Police Department Detention Facility!

Detention Officer Jonathan Villagran, Detention Officer Christopher Stroud, Detention Officer Dillon Oates,
Detention Officer Angelica Estrada, Detention Supervisor David Dodd

We look forward to a long, prosperous, and successful journey as our department continues to grow and become a premier Law Enforcement Agency in Ellis County.

Congratulations on joining our community.

Service, Honor, and Vigilance.
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1 week ago
Welcome and thank you! Stay safe!Image attachmentImage attachment

Welcome and thank you! Stay safe! ... See MoreSee Less

1 week ago
Welcome and thank you! Stay safe!

Welcome and thank you! Stay safe!Help us welcome Levi Birkey to the police department. Officer Birkey comes to us with two years of police experience. He will begin 12 weeks of field training starting Sunday. ... See MoreSee Less

1 week ago
NEW EPISODE: The Unpredictability of 2024

The Mortgage Beat is live with an all-new episode featuring John Aretos, CEO, Police Mortgage, created For First Responders Who Are Second to None!

To hear the episode, please visit: https://policemortgage.com/mortgage-beat-episodes/.

#PoliceMortgage #Mortgage #FirstResponders #LawEnforcement #EverybodyGoesHomeLetsGetHomeTogether

NEW EPISODE: The Unpredictability of 2024

The Mortgage Beat is live with an all-new episode featuring John Aretos, CEO, Police Mortgage, created For First Responders Who Are Second to None!

To hear the episode, please visit: policemortgage.com/mortgage-beat-episodes/.

#PoliceMortgage #mortgage #firstresponders #lawenforcement #everybodygoeshomeletsgethometogether
... See MoreSee Less

1 week ago
Congratulations and thank you for 45(!!!!) years of service, Superintendent Clapprood! That is an incredible milestone! All the best and every success in your retirement! Stay safe!Image attachment

Congratulations and thank you for 45(!!!!) years of service, Superintendent Clapprood! That is an incredible milestone! All the best and every success in your retirement! Stay safe! ... See MoreSee Less

1 week ago
Thank you for 28 years of service! 
#Hero

Thank you for 28 years of service!
#HeroWell done Brother. Lieutenant Pablo Cruz has retired from the Ohio State Highway Patrol after 28 years of service.
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1 week ago
Thank you for 24 years of service! All the best in our success in your next endeavors.

Thank you for 24 years of service! All the best in our success in your next endeavors.Congratulations!

After 24 years of dedicated service to the City of Rolling Meadows Officer Steve Whetstone retired today. Throughout Officer Whetstone’s career with the Rolling Meadows Police Department he served as a Field Training Officer, Major Case Assistance Team Traffic Crash Investigator, Motorcycle Officer, and our very first K9 Officer, and most importantly a friend to us all.

Officer Whetstone also has numerous awards to include the lifesaving award.

Officer Whetstone will be greatly missed by the department and we wish him well on the next chapter of his life. Congratulations to Officer Stephen Whetstone #209 on 24 years of dedicated service to the city!

Please help us congratulate Officer Whetstone on his retirement!

Congratulations Steve!!
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2 weeks ago
Thank you!! Stay safe!

Thank you!! Stay safe!Shout-out to Deputy Chad Smith for five years of serving and protecting Okaloosa County residents and visitors! #TeamOCSO #WellDone ... See MoreSee Less

2 weeks ago

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Being There

Many years ago, when I was an undergraduate college student enjoying the heck out of my junior year, I was fortunate to be part of something that I will remember, with pride, forever.

In my college days, I was a member of a fraternity.  We weren’t the biggest house on campus, and we were not considered a particularly talented group of guys when it came to academics or athletics.  We were, however, a pretty close-knit crew.  This is still the case all these years later as I consider several of my fraternity brothers as my best friends to this day.

We were close-knit in the sense that we hung out with each other, stuck up for each other, and generally exhibited the best traits that you associate with being part of a group of people united by common interests and an appreciation for the time and the place and a cause, in this case our fraternity.

At the beginning of my junior year, we were talking about goals and things that we could do to make that year particularly memorable.  As part of that discussion, we talked about what it would take to win the intramural fraternity sports championship, which was a year-long competition involving every sport offered.  This would be no small task, given the shortcomings of our overall size and lack of athletic abilities, and the fact that, as far as we knew, our house had never been crowned as sports champions in our long history on campus.

The more we thought about it, however, the more apparent it became that if we committed to participate in every sport, regardless of our skill set or how well we would do in each individual or team competition, we would earn points for showing up and representing our house.   We figured that if we made it a point to field individual and teams in every sport throughout the year, we would gain an advantage over every other house.

That quickly became the mission and it took every single member of our house to commit to it.  We mapped out every sport and when it was offered.  We sought and obtained buy-in from everyone and then we drew up the rosters for each team sport and, where possible, fielded multiple teams for each of those sports.  We filled the maximum number of slots we were allowed for each individual sport.

We posted reminders for upcoming games and the results from every contest as well as the standings for overall points earned amongst all the fraternities on campus, of which there were thirty-three.

We also made sure that we had fans at every event, our own fraternity brothers and anyone else who was interested and available.  Sometimes, we did very well and sometimes we were routed.  Sometimes, the results were disappointing because we expected to do better and sometimes, we exceeded our expectations.

For my part, let’s just say that I was known more for my effort and mental fortitude than for my athleticism, which was and still is essentially non-existent.  I did play every single team sport that year and I did successfully return to competitive swimming for the first time since I had double shoulder surgery at the end of my sophomore year in high school.  I also was humiliated on the racquetball court and trounced in a few other events that I am trying to forget.

We had a lot of fun.  The house was probably closer that year than had ever been the case previously.  Everybody did his part, and in the end, we did it!  We won the fraternity intramural championship, purely by being more committed to the goal and outhustling every other house in the process.

Before you think that I am writing about this purely to the relive the glory days of college, let me get to the point.  Despite the challenges and the unprecedented nature of the objective, we prevailed.  Despite a lack of talent, we came out on top.  We won because we were committed to being there.  We committed to the goal.  We committed to the work that it took to achieve the goal.  We committed to each other.

The bottom line is that being there is more important than just about anything else you can ever do.

At its foundation, being there is the first fundamental step.  You cannot progress through school without being there on a regular basis.  You cannot advance in your career without showing up for work.  It would be impossible to be an effective parent if you never spent time with your children.

Despite all of this, the importance of being there is often dismissed.  In recent years, thanking someone for being there has been equated to rewarding them just for showing up.  Let me be clear on this.  There is a big difference between handing out a trophy to every participant simply for being physically present and the rewards that you earn when you are a committed, unconditional, active participant toward the achievement of your goals and those of your teammates, co-workers, and family.

You cannot be a good student if you don’t go to school.  Over the years, and especially now, school has been more broadly defined.  Even in the broadest definition of school and what that definition is to you, success as a student is predicated on the participation and commitment of that student.

You cannot be an effective leader if you do not spend time with your co-workers every day.  It is impossible to get to know anyone without spending time with them, asking them questions, observing their strengths, and seeking ways to put them in a position to succeed.  You may not always make the right decision, but you have a much better chance for doing so when you spend time with your team.

When it comes to parenting, it is even more important to be there.  In all my experiences and adventures, I have never been more humbled than I have been as a father.  At one time or another, I have second-guessed almost every decision I have ever made.  Whatever pre-conceived notions I had entering parenthood have, at a minimum, been challenged.  Things that I thought I knew with absolute certainty have become uncertain in my mind.

Sometimes, the only absolute thing that I have going for me as a parent is my knowledge that I have been there for my kids.  I have been there every step of the way and they have never had to question whether I was interested in them, or if I cared about them, or if I wanted to be involved in their lives.  I’ve been there.  It means everything to me, and I know that it means a lot to them as well.

When you reflect on the best and/or the most impactful times of your life, think about who you were there for and who was there for you.  The most meaningful relationships you have are always forged during these times and they form the basis for what endures in your memory.

You may not remember a specific test that you aced, but you will likely remember who helped you study for it.  You may not remember the details of a business plan or strategy session, but you will remember who was on the team that helped you achieve the goals that you set.

Being there isn’t the only step necessary to take if you want to find purpose and meaning in your life, but it is the most important one and it is not out of reach for anyone.

Everyone is capable of being there.

Scott Arney
Chief Executive Officer
Chicago Patrolmen’s Federal Credit Union

Don’t forget, members of the Credit Union enjoy free and confidential Credit Counseling and Financial Planning through our Financial Planning and Education Center. We are here to assist you every step of the way.

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