President Kathy Myers reminded us of the June 24^th planting of milkweed plants at Towner’s Woods.  Come with gardening tools at 2pm that day.  Meet in the parking lot.  She also thanked all those who helped with the Story Walk in downtown Kent on June 18^th.  Fire Chief Bill Myers read the story.  Dave Myers dressed as the Black Squirrel, much to the delight of his children.

 

President Kathy reported on information from neighboring clubs.  The Aurora Club is holding a July 5^th drawing.  The Hillcrest Club is doing a golf outing on July 28^th.  See Kathy for more details.

 

Amanda Senn reminded us of the Rotary Happy Hour on June 23^rd from 4 to 6 pm at the Battleground Restaurant in Kent.  Please let Amanda know if you wish to attend.  Email her at ASENN@MetisConstruction.com.

 

Tom Hatch talked about the June 21^st Tap Talks presentation at North Water Street Brewing.  Doug Fuller will talk about Kent’s buildings.

 

Bill Childers passed out flyers for the District End Polio Now Game at Progressive Field on July 13^th. He also passed around a sign up sheet for volunteer work needed at Kent Social Services on June 24^th starting at 9 am.

 

President Kathy called on Amanda Senn to introduce Tim Naftzger.  Amanda told us that Tim works at Portage Community Bank.  He is a former member of the Lodi Rotary Club.  He is married to Rachel.  President Kathy presented Tim with a Rotary packet and officially inducted him into our club.  Then Kathy introduced Denise Baba, who works at PARTA.  She is married to husband Frank.  She has a daughter Rachel, who prefers to be called Rae.  Denise received her Rotary packet and was inducted as a new Rotarian in the Kent Club.

 

President Kathy called on Roger Sidoti to introduce our speaker for today.  Roger introduced Nick Shearer, Kent Police Chief.  The Chief is married and has two daughters.  When he is not working he likes to spend time with his family.  Chief Shearer rose through the ranks of the Kent Police Department starting as a patrol officer.  He was promoted to Sergeant in 2013, Lieutenant in 2015, and Chief in 2020.

Chief Shearer told us that he came into his current position soon after the George Floyd murder when tensions were heightened between law enforcement and the community.  He wanted to improve the engagement with the community.  There are several policing initiatives that have been developed to facilitate community relationships.  He noted cancer fundraisers that benefit families in need.  There is a family friendly Halloween celebration.  A Citizens Police Academy is a multi-week program that is open to all members of the community. Lt. Mike Lewis works extensively at community engagement, but the Chief noted that additional resources need to be devoted to that work.

 

The Chief talked about the values of the Kent Police Dept.  The values are the foundation of the vision for the Dept.  Values include fostering a sense of family and teamwork; being responsible to citizens; remaining loyal to the profession; and making a difference in the lives of citizens.

 

Chief Shearer has a passion for youth engagement.  He works closely with Kent City Schools and the Kent Parks and Recreation Department.  The Police Department designates 2 community relations officers per shift to work with youth.  There is an interest in starting a Police Explorers program, which is sponsored through Boy Scouts.  It would be open to boys and girls.  Officers also get involved with the summer day camps of Parks and Recreation.  Officers show up in plain clothes just to play sports with the kids.

 

The Chief talked about the need for transparency with the department.  He stated that he makes himself available to meet with citizens and offers regular updates and presentations to city council.  He has posted the policy and procedure manual on the KPD website.  The Chief is proud of the professionalization of the Department through policy development, training, and use of body cameras. He shared information about the cost of body cameras but said the positives of the use of cameras has been very beneficial.

 

There was time for only a few questions at the end of the presentation.  There were questions about morale and job applicants, canine officers, jail use, CIT trained officers, and school safety.  Tom Larkin noted some of the trainings done by the schools with the help of the police.

 

Amanda Senn was asked to present the response.  She first offered a rebuttal opportunity to Bill Myers, the Fire Chief, who was the recipient of some good-natured humor from Chief Shearer.  Bill noted that the two departments have worked very collaboratively and enjoy time spent together. Amanda told us that Kent is fortunate to have a very progressive police department. She thanked Chief Shearer for his presentation.

 

The meeting was closed with the reciting of the Four Way Test.

 

Respectfully submitted,

Sue Hetrick