NEW JERSEY STATE POLICEMEN ’ S BENEVOLENT ASSOCIATION EXECUTIVE BOARD
PATRICK COLLIGAN State President
MARC KOVAR Executive Vice President
Peter Andreyev 1st Vice President Henry Werner 2nd Vice President Michael Pellegrino 3rd Vice President Mark Aurigemma 4th Vice President Eugene Dello 5th Vice President Richard Kott 6th Vice President Frederick Ludd , Sr . 7th Vice President Luke Sciallo 8th Vice President Frank P . Cipully 9th Vice President John Cernek 10th Vice President Ed Carattini , Jr . 11th Vice President Michael Freeman 12th Vice President
Michael Kaniuk Financial Secretary Margaret Hammond Recording Secretary John Monsees Treasurer
Bryan Flammia Trustee Robert Ormezzano Trustee Terrance Benson , Sr . Trustee Rodney Furby Trustee
Charles Schwartz Trustee Patrick Moran Trustee Joseph A . Macones Trustee
Sean Plasket Sergeant-at-Arms Michael Tardio Sergeant-at-Arms Michael Heller Sergeant-at-Arms Keith Curry Sergeant-at-Arms Christopher Ricciotti Sergeant-at-Arms
John Granahan Sergeant-at-Arms Andrew Pacucci Sergeant-at-Arms Joseph Nigro Sergeant-at-Arms
4 NEW JERSEY COPS ■ OCTOBER FEBRUARY 2016 2018
The President ’ s Message Failure is an option :
Remembering Bobby Smith and matters related to PFRS
‘ Embrace the struggle ’
Patrick Colligan
I won ’ t pretend to be overjoyed at the Eagles ’ Super Bowl win . I was somehow hoping for a tie . But if the Eagles didn ’ t win , we would have missed an incredibly powerful speech . A portion of Nick Foles ’ MVP press conference should be required watching for everybody .
If you are struggling in your life today , if you need some inspiration or if you have a child who isn ’ t having an easy time right now , find the tape and fast forward to 4:45 . Listen to this guy who just lifted a team - that by all accounts , shouldn ’ t even have been in the Super Bowl - to a startling victory . Listen to the back-up quarterback who played like a cool , calm seasoned veteran and beat a future Hall-of-Fame quarterback . The guy leads his team to a championship and is awarded the MVP . He is on top of the world . Yet he still delivers the most poignant message about failure that I ’ ve ever heard . No written speech . No prepared remarks . Right from the heart .
I won ’ t do it justice , but the message he delivered from the podium was , “ Don ’ t be afraid to fail .” He fittingly pointed out that in these days of social media , our lives , and those around us , are nothing but highlight reels . “ It ’ s all the good things ,” Foles exclaimed . “ I wouldn ’ t be up here if I hadn ’ t fallen thousands of times . I still have daily struggles . Embrace the struggle .” Eagles fans who haven ’ t been born yet will bow their heads when the name Nick Foles is mentioned , and this guy tells us he has daily struggles and failures ? What a powerful message .
Social media is a highlight reel . I ’ ll plead guilty . There is no perfect , easy life . Let me tell you what you won ’ t see posted on social media today : Our credit score just hit a new low ! My wife just woke up and told me she isn ’ t in love with me anymore ! Found a great place to hide the car from the repo man last night ! Got written up again today ; fourth time in three weeks ! Fooled the doc again ; 30 more Oxys ! It ’ s Feb . 20 and I ’ m already out of vacation , sick time and comp time ! You won ’ t see it , because it doesn ’ t fit on the highlight reel . But these are struggles that many around us find as a stark , daily reality .
I had the pleasure of attending the FMBA Conference in Atlantic City the first week of February . I caught the end of a powerful , personal struggle that a fireman had with alcohol . They are not immune , either . Nobody is immune to struggles and failure . Even Nick Foles admits to that .
I opened my speech to the FMBA with my personal struggle of dealing with one of our member suicides . I talked about usually having the answers to all the questions : the grievances , the problems with a chief , the problem members , legislation . I usually have those answers at the tip of my tongue , yet when I get notified of a member suicide , all I have is an empty gasp . I beg for the answer . I wish that member had given one of us just five minutes to talk him or her out of it . I face the reality that we will never reach zero suicides , but 17 in one year is heartbreaking . Can you imagine 17 Line of Duty Deaths in New Jersey in one year ? These suicides really feel like Line of Duty Deaths in many instances . They fell because of our job . Unfortunately , they are laid to rest without the honor of 100 motorcycles , without pipes and drums and without thousands of saluting officers .
We would be living in a vastly different place if all attempts were successful . Our world would not have witnessed the civil rights struggle ( and successes ) of Martin Luther King Jr . if he was successful at 12 years old . We would not have enjoyed watching one of the greatest home-run hitters in baseball history if Ken Griffey Jr . was successful at age 18 . There would be 100 million fewer albums sold , and 23 Grammys would be on someone else ’ s shelf , if Billy Joel ’ s first attempt was successful . You get the picture . They thought that only they struggled , that only they had failures .
We have the resources to help deal with the failures and the struggles . You can be anonymous , or you can give your name . You can show up , you can call or you can even email . Just give us the chance . The struggles are not insurmountable . When you decide on a permanent solution to a temporary problem , we won ’ t be able to witness your successes and share in the celebrations . Don ’ t leave us wondering why . The man on the very top of the world on Feb . 4 has daily struggles . Listen to Nick Foles , please .
“ Embrace the struggle !” d