Executive Director’s Message- July 2025

Since the last publication of this magazine in April, we have had some changes in the membership of the Executive Board. President Scott Gray retired from the Fayetteville Police Department as well as stepped down from his board position on May 21, 2025.  Per the GACP Constitution, First Vice President Anita Allen from Albany State University Police Department became our new president, and she the appointed former GACP board member Woodrow Blue from the Forsyth Police Department to fill the vacant board position of first vice president. Chief Blue will serve in this position until the new 2026 – 2027 Board is installed at the Fall Conference in September.

The 11 GACP districts will be holding elections for their “elected” district representative to serve for the term of September 2026 – September 2027. Between July 18^th and the Fall Training Conference, President Allen will appoint the remaining district representative (appointed position) for each district as well as fill any vacant elected positions. If you are a current appointed representative and wish to remain in the position for the next term, please reach out to President Allen.

The 2025 Spring Training Conference at the Gas South District Conference Center was a very successful event. A record number of attendees (453) were offered a variety of interesting training sessions, and the conference facility and hotel were amazing. A special thanks goes out to Chief J.D. McClure and the Gwinnett County Police Department for the high visibility, security and presence during the conference.   The Fall Training Conference will be held in Savannah in September. Registration is open for attendees and exhibitors. For agencies that receive their liability insurance through the Georgia Interlocal Risk Management Agency (GIRMA), GIRMA may be able to provide some financial assistance with the conference registration fees for police chiefs.

Governor Kemp signed several bills in May that will affect law enforcement. The new laws cover oaths for peace officers, appeals process for Brady / Giglio designations, digital driver’s licenses, drones over ticketed and gated events, and new requirements for school safety panic alerts and digital mapping. Please visit the GACP website’s legislative page for detailed information.  During the summer months, we will be working on identifying our legislative priorities for 2026.

In closing, I want to thank each one of our members, exhibitors, partners, and staff for making GACP one of the preeminent police chief associations in the nation. Recently, I was contacted by another state police chief association that was assessing their current situation and how to improve.  Their mission was to contact the five top associations in the nation and interview the executive director. I am proud that GACP was on that list.