NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF BLACK LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS ANNOUNCE AWARD RECIPIENTS FOR 2017
Recipients of Community Service and Community Policing Awards To Be Recognized In Ceremony on October 20th.
Dated: Sunday September 10, 2017
The National Association of Black Law Enforcement Officers today announced the 2017 Recipients of their Community Service and Community Policing Awards. Given to recognize local individuals or organizations that have provided support to improve and enhance the relationships between law enforcement and the communities they serve, the awards are a recognition of efforts to promote stronger and more lasting relationships between communities and their law enforcement guardians, and instill Community Policing as an embedded philosophy.
The 2017 Community Policing Award will be presented to Ray Rickman. Rickman is a businessman and president of the Rickman Group, a consulting firm that raises funds and conducts management and diversity training for non-profits and small and large businesses. Rickman is also currently the executive director of Stages of Freedom, a nonprofit that provides African American culture programs and free swimming lessons to hundreds of Youth of Color. A former State Representative from the Brown University area of Providence, he served as Rhode Island Deputy Secretary of State from 2000 to 2002. Mr. Rickman was the leading opponent of mass-incarceration bills during his six years in the Rhode Island House of Representatives. Mr. Rickman authored a well known booklet on police/community relations much talked about in Providence, and has helped with recruitment for both police and fire departments in Rhode Island and has conducted over 300 diversity workshops for police, fire, college, businesses and medical centers.
The 2017 Community Service Award will be presented to Raymond Two Hawks Watson. Watson is an Artivist, Community Activist, Educator, Cultural Practitioner and Convener with 10 years of experience in nonprofit executive administration. Watson’s skills consist of program development & implementation, grant writing, motivational speaking, leadership & cultural development consulting, community organizing and event planning, supplemented by an extensive background in promoting and supporting cultural equity & development initiatives and programming in the Rhode Island community.
Both recipients will be publicly recognized during ceremonies to be held at the Cape Verdean Progressive Club, 329 Grosvenor Ave, East Providence, RI, on Friday, October 20th at 8:00 PM, during an event sponsored by the Rhode Island Guardians Association, the host chapter for NABLEO’s Fall Education and Training Conference and Board of Directors Meetings being held October 18th -20th at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Warwick, RI.
Tickets for the evening event, which are $20.00 per person, may be obtained by calling John A’Vant at 401-548-1333, Charles Wilson at 401-465-9152, or Ronald Madison at 401-935-8521. Local law enforcement, public, and community groups are invited to attend both the awards event and the training conference. Conference information may be viewed at http://conference.nableo.org.
The National Association of Black Law Enforcement Officers, Inc, a 501.(c).(3) non-profit, is a premier national organization representing the interests and concerns of African American, Latino and other criminal justice practitioners of color serving in law enforcement, corrections, and investigative agencies throughout the United States, and the communities in which they serve.
