Community Partnership & Engagement Following are summary highlights of our goals and accomplishments in 2022. 2022 MOA GOALS AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS MOA Goal #1: To be the premier community support organization for the FBI Springfield Division and law enforcement generally. Our mission is to support the Community Outreach mission of the FBI Springfield and facilitate a greater understanding of and working relationship with law enforcement in the community served by the FBI Springfield. To rebuild awareness and communication with our membership through using Wild Apricot, setting up a monthly newsletter for added communication with members, conducting in person meetings with members at various locations of interest and having FBI staff and guests speak on relevant topics. February-April FBI Springfield’s Citizens Academy FBISCAAA Board of Directors and members provided dinner for all Citizens Academy participants at each of its 2022 classes. Our Board of Directors assisted with logistics. June 21-23 FAIT Academy, Lewis and Clark Community College, Godfrey, IL One way to bring awareness about the FBI is through a FAIT Academy where high school juniors and seniors are provided with several presentations on topics including terrorism, cyber-crime, evidence response, SWAT, and the day-to-day operations of a typical FBI office. Students also learn from special agents, intelligence analysts, and professional staff about investigative tactics that include gathering evidence, interviewing witnesses, and assisting with cases. The FBISCAAA supports and assists with logistics, program needs and volunteers.
August 2 National Night Out FBISCAAA Board Members volunteered at three separate National Night Out events educating community members on Safe Online Surfing, Elder Fraud, and the Child ID ap. Two events were held in Springfield, IL at Iles Park and Enos Park. The third event was held in Jacksonville, IL.
August 6 Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum’s Back to School Bash FBISCAAA Board Members volunteered at the Back to School Bash educating community members on Safe Online Surfing, Elder Fraud, and the Child ID ap.
August 27 Bridging the Gap Barbeque, The Outlet The FBISCAAA donated desserts for this event. Our Board of Directors volunteered at the event educating community members on Safe Online Surfing, Elder Fraud, and the Child ID ap.
October 31 Trunk or Treat, The Outlet FBISCAAA Board Members volunteered at this event distributing Halloween candy and educating community members on Safe Online Surfing, Elder Fraud, and the Child ID ap. November 22 Coffee with an Agent FBISCAAA members and the Board of Directors sat around the table and had coffee and conversation with Special Agent Will Henry. December 1 FBISCAAA Annual Meeting FBISCAAA members and Board of Directors joined together at our annual meeting. Our speaker was the Security Supervisor for the St. Louis Cardinals, Chris Palmer. Special Agent in Charge, David Nanz also said a few words. We raised $500 through sponsorships at this event. This was our first year getting community donations for this event. December 17 Annual Strategic Planning Meeting for FBISCAAA 2023 Our FBISCAAA Board of Directors met to strategize. MOA Goal #2: Work with the FBI Springfield Division under the leadership of SAC Nanz in assisting with Community Outreach and other programs outlined below. January, April, July, and October FBI/FBISCAAA Blood Drives In assessing community needs, the FBISCAAA noted that blood drives were needed to ensure that local hospitals in the Division had adequate supplies to serve the area. Three years ago, the FBISCAAA joined forces with the FBI Springfield Division and ImpactLife that serves most of the 84 counties in the Division to conduct frequent blood drives to help serve patients in local hospitals. That humanitarian effort was continued in 2022 with additional blood drives added. February 14 The FBISCAAA’s very own Charlyn Ware made her special recipe chocolate chip cookies, and we sold them by the dozen to FBISCAAA members as a fundraiser. We made $508 to benefit our Chapter’s community outreach. September 15 Leadership Springfield, Chamber of Commerce The Springfield FBI hosted Leadership Springfield, an event for business leaders in the Springfield area. The FBISCAAA sponsored breakfast for all attendees. Our Board of Directors also assisted with logistics. December The FBISCAAA’s very own Charlyn Ware was at it again. She made her special recipe chocolate chip cookies for Pro Form in Springfield, IL and they donated $1000 to benefit our Chapter’s community outreach. December 1 Food and Coat Drive The FBISCAAA collected food and coat donations to benefit The Outlet. The mission of The Outlet is to help young fatherless youth develop the ability to make responsible life decisions, hold spiritual values, explore their gifts, and realize their dreams. https://www.theoutletillinois.org OTHER CHAPTER HIGHLIGHTS AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS Board of Directors The Board of Directors is responsible for governance oversight and operations of the Chapter and meets (monthly) to plan, organize, and report on progress toward our goals. The Board works closely with the Field Office COS and other FBI personnel to ensure our actions are in alignment with Field Office priorities and continue to build a strong, strategic partnership. The Board of Directors in 2022 included: Tara Matheson, President Pam Frazier, Vice President Suzanne Hogge, Treasurer Angie Muhs, Secretary Cris Lust, Membership Coordinator Jean Winn Patrick Lam Dr. Ronda Sauget Kevin Corbin Charlyn Ware, Past President Lee Milner, non-voting Board Advisor FBI Community Outreach Specialist (COS) Liaison: W Bradley Ware Membership Development In 2022, our Chapter had 83 paid members, an increase of 8 from the previous year. A couple of factors contributed to membership growth in 2022:
Volunteer Hours In 2022, Chapter members volunteered 690 hours to plan, organize, implement, and staff outreach programs. Chapter Recognitions The Chapter received the Excellence in Chapter Operations and Excellence in FBI Advocacy Awards at the 2022 National Leadership Conference in Norfolk, VA. Three members of our Board and our COS were in attendance to accept the awards. Chapter Operations Improvements In 2022, we designed and launched our FBISCAAA website through Wild Apricot. Fundraising As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, we rely on donated money to support our ongoing mission. In 2022, we raised 1,508 in cookie sales and $2,360 at our Annual Meeting which includes community donations. Total raised in 2022 is $3,868. SUMMARY Our achievements in 2022 can be attributed to a solid strategic plan developed in partnership with the FBI Field Office, forward thinking Board leadership, engaged members committed to the mission, community partners who support our goals, and the ability of our team to create and adapt to new ways of continuing our work post pandemic. We believe our plan provided a thoughtful roadmap to set direction, define priorities, and focus limited resources on programs to make that happen. Our Board of Directors met with Special Agent in Charge Nanz, and he supports the initiatives outlined by the FBISCAAA. The FBISCAAA is a nonprofit organization separate and apart from the FBI. SUBMITTED BY Name: Tara Matheson Board Position: President Chapter: Springfield, IL Contact Email: tmatheson@impactlife.org |
FBI Springfield Citizens Academy Alumni Association
2021 Annual Highlights
This year again had its difficulties with Covid-19 running like a roller-coaster with many ups and downs during 2021. The FBISCAAA was able to adapt to these challenges with virtual gatherings and in-person events when safety could be assured.
Continuing to Save Lives with The FBI Springfield Division
In assessing community needs, the FBISCAAA noted that blood drives were needed to assure that local hospitals in the Division had adequate supplies to serve the area. Two years ago, the FBISCAAA joined forces with the FBI Springfield Division and the Community Blood Center that serves most of the 84 counties in the Division to conduct frequent blood drives to help serve patients in local hospitals. That humanitarian effort was continued in 2021 with additional blood drives added. These blood drives were especially helpful since many businesses that normally held blood drives had reduced activity and many employees were working at home.
Since each blood donation can save up to three lives, these blood drives provided the life-giving resources to help a large number of area residents. Very importantly, these blood drives helped keep ready-to-use blood on the shelves to instantly aid patient needs. Blood has to be tested before it can be transfused to patients, so the only blood that can help in times of great need is that which is on the shelf, tested and ready to use. This was dramatically demonstrated in December when a devastating tornado caused immense destruction, injured and killed several in the southern part of the Springfield Division. Due to the efforts of these blood drives and others in the area, community blood center Impact Life was able to dispatch blood supplies to aid the injured. The FBISCAAA is very grateful to blood donors and to our partners, the FBI Springfield Division and Impact Life, for helping to save lives within the Division. The FBISCAAA is committed to continuing this life-saving partnership and is encouraging all Chapters to emulate this life-saving activity.
FBI Programs Introduced to School Leaders
The FBISCAAA maintains strong relationships with all the major educational organizations in the State. Members were again asked to bring information about FBI services to schools to the largest gathering of school leaders. Nearly 10,000 school board members, school administrators and school business officials attend the leadership conference of the Illinois Association of School Boards, the Illinois Association of School Administrators and the Illinois Association of School Business Officials. The FBISCAAA President Emeritus and the FBI Springfield Community Outreach Specialist established an exhibit area where they were able to distribute information and discuss ways the FBI programs can assist schools with hundreds of these school leaders. Comments from participants were extremely complimentary, especially with regard to Safe Online Surfing and the Child ID app.
Chronological Summary Review of Accomplishments– January 1, 2021 to December 31, 2021
*January – Partnered with Frontiers International supporting Martin Luther King Day, a virtual event honoring the late civil rights leader.
-- Conducted a Zoom meeting to emphasize the importance of blood donation.
-- Distributed food drive receipts to the Outlet, a nonprofit organization serving boys from single-parent homes.
*January; April; July and October – Conducted Blood Drives with FBI Springfield Division and Impact Life, a community blood center serving most of the hospitals in the Division.
*January through May; September through December – Supported the Collegiate Academy at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, the flagship university of the state’s largest higher education system.
*February through April – Supported the Citizens Academy Class – Meals provided by FBISCAAA when in-person classes were able to be conducted.
*February through May– Supported the Junior SA Program/Teen Academy at the Jackie Joyner Kersee Center in East St. Louis
*February -- Directed a substantial contribution to the Miami Chapter to assist the families of Special Agents who died in the line of duty.
*April – Citizens Academy Graduation and Membership Meeting with Brian C Turner, FBI Executive Assistant Director for Criminal, Cyber, Response and Service Branch.
- · Citizens Academy Range Day: FBISCAAA support included members preparing lunch for participants.
*August – In conjunction with the FBI Springfield Division and other law enforcement departments, supported community events for National Night Out.
*November – Demonstrated FBI programs for schools, parents and students at the Annual Meeting of the IL Association of School Boards, Il Association of School Administrators and IL Association of School Business Officials.
-- Conducted annual Strategic Planning Meeting of the FBISCAAA.
*October – Invited membership to join in touring the Illinois Military Museum and meeting David Nanz, the new Special Agent in Charge for the FBI Springfield Division.
*October – Supported the Hispanic Women of Springfield Festival and Health Fair.
*December – Winter-wear collection: Members of the FBISCAAA collected winter coats, other cold-weather wear and non-perishable food that was distributed to a local non-profit organization supporting at-risk youth.
*December – FBISCAAA Annual Meeting with new FBI Springfield Division Special Agent in Charge David Nanz as the Keynote Speaker. The meeting included the election of new Board members and thanking those who were leaving.
2020 Annual Highlights The year was difficult for everyone, with the COVID-19 Pandemic a new virtual lifestyle for the world’s population. The FBISCAAA adapted to these challenges with innovative programs and support for members and the communities served by the FBI Springfield Division. Saving Lives With The FBI Springfield Division It is well known that the FBI saves lives by breaking up conspiracies, rescuing hostages, and otherwise removing criminals from the streets of this country. With the COVID pandemic, however, it became clear to the FBISCAAA that there are other ways to join forces with the FBI Springfield Division to save lives in our communities. During COVID restrictions, schools are closed or reduced, higher education institutions about the same and businesses have diminished schedules and staffing. These are normally primary sources for blood centers to receive donations to supply hospitals throughout the Division. Consequently, the FBISCAAA joined with the FBI Springfield Division to conduct blood drives at Division headquarters and to sponsor several days at the donor center of the Central Illinois Community Blood Center (CICBC). Someone in the United States needs blood every two seconds, and the blood must be on the shelves when it is needed. It takes around 24 hours for blood to be tested after it is collected. COVID patients do not generally need blood transfusions, but others served by those same hospitals often need large quantities of blood due to traumas, elective surgeries and other emergencies. Local hospitals throughout the Division were getting dangerously low in their inventories. So, the FBISCAAA and FBI Springfield Division asked the CICBC to pull their Bloodmobile into the FBIs visitor parking area and accept blood donors for a day. For those who could not donate on that day, FBISCAAA members and FBI staff were asked to consider donating at CICBCs fixed donor center during the entire week that was sponsored by the FBISCAAA and FBI Springfield Division. The CICBC provides blood for nearly all the hospitals within the 84-county territory of the Springfield Division. When blood is divided into its components by the CICBC laboratory, each donated unit can serve up to three patients, so several patients received life-saving transfusions due to donors at these blood drives.
This first cosponsored blood drive was successful, and the FBISCAAA Board has committed to cosponsor several future drives. While this drive was successful, lessons were learned that should make future blood drives more successful. Donors must wait 56 days between donations of whole blood, and many of our members and FBI staff are regular donors, so cannot appear at blood drives unless given sufficient notice of the opportunity. Thus, we must market blood drives well in advance to allow for regular donors to schedule these convenient opportunities. And marketing must detail the importance of blood donation and the need within our communities. We have already scheduled a Zoom webinar with an employee of the Blood Center who will outline the need and appeal for assistance at future blood drives. These blood drives help us conform to our community service mission and fit within our MOA with the Springfield Division to partner with them in serving the communities and residents in the Division. Lives are being saved through these combined efforts of the FBISCAAA and the FBI Springfield Division!!!
COVID-19 Update for FBISCAAA Members and FBI Family (Virtual Meeting) The FBISCAAA includes voluntary members from throughout the Division who are well connected to their communities. With a network of community leaders, issues are often brought to attention that need to be addressed to membership and the community. So it was with the emergence of Covid-19. Significant mitigations were implemented early in the Covid-19 pandemic, so growth in the spread was slow initially. But within a few weeks, community members began to report increases and hospitals were seeing more patients. The increase was likely related to gatherings where proper health procedures were not implemented. FBISCAAA leadership decided that members needed the information about current trends and ways to help slow the spread. An electronic meeting was convened and featured one of the top medical officers of a large hospital that serves a large geographical portion of the Division. Because of his high ranking and connections with other health professionals in the Division area, he was able to relate positivity rates and hospitalization rates throughout the area served by the FBI Division. He also stressed the importance of wearing masks, maintaining social distancing and frequent hand washing. While hospitals were not yet experiencing high rates of COVID patients, the program made clear that observing safe practices would help assure that hospitals would not be overwhelmed.
Coming early in the spread of the Pandemic, the report was timely and very informative-providing members and the FBI family with knowledge to help them protect themselves and their friends and families. The presenter was Dr. David Graham, the Vice President for Quality Control of one of the largest area hospital systems and at the time Vice President of the FBISCAAA Board. Light the Community Blue for Law Enforcement – One of the objectives of the FBISCAAA is to improve relationships between communities and law enforcement. In furtherance of that objective, the Association initiated a campaign in 2019 to “Light The Community Blue For Law Enforcement.” With Safe at Home directives and other health measures to stop the spread of COVID, the FBISCAAA Board decided that this was not the time to send large numbers of people to stores to receive blue bulbs. Instead, the event was publicized and residents were asked to display bulbs remaining from the previous campaign. Even with the challenges presented by COVID, the community was still able to show wide support for law enforcement by lighting many subdivisions and porches bright blue.
Chronological Summary Review of Accomplishments– January 1, 2020 to December 31, 2020 *January – Partnered with Frontiers in supporting Martin Luther King Day, honoring the late civil rights leader. -- Conducted a blood drive in partnership with FBI Springfield Division. *February through April – Supported the Citizens Academy Class – Meals provided by FBISCAAA when in-person classes were able to be conducted. *May – Promoted “Light the Community Blue for Law Enforcement” with blue lights from the previous campaign on porches and in subdivisions. -- Conducted Zoom seminar “COVID-19 Update for FBISCAAA Members and FBI Family” *June – Virtual meeting to introduce new ASAC Angie Young to Members *July – FBI/FBISCAAA Blood Drive *August – Supported Graduation for FBI Springfield Citizens Academy Class of 2020 *March through December --Education Organizations Encouraged to Use FBI Programs During COVID Adjustments – The FBISCAAA has developed strong relationships with all the major educational organizations in the State. This has allowed FBISCAAA volunteers and FBI staff to publicize FBI programing for schools at many large statewide education conferences. Educational conferences were not conducted in 2020, due to COVID precautions. Consequently, the FBISCAAA encouraged educational organizations to suggest that local schools utilize FBI programming – especially Safe Online Surfing – in their virtual and hybrid-learning models. Because students needed to spend much of their time on computers during this time, it was particularly important to emphasize SOS programming. *January through May, 2020 and September through December, 2020 -- Supported the Collegiate Academy at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign --This program is designed to give students a greater understanding of the FBI’s role in law enforcement in the community through discussion and education. *December – Winter-wear collection: Members of the FBISCAAA collected winter coats and other cold-weather wear that was distributed to a local non-profit organization supporting at-risk youth. *December – Support for Homeless in the Community: FBISCAAA provided monetary assistance to a nonprofit community organization that assists the homeless, including providing a Winter Warming Center to provide shelter during Illinois’ rugged winter weather. |
