PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE

Greetings to Everyone,

I hope this newsletter finds you and your family doing well. The June membership meeting was a great night. It was our annual Bull and Shrimp Feast. The food was good and the turnout by the membership was fantastic. This past summer was a hot one. I pray that each of you had a fun and safe summer. 

Many things have happened since the last newsletter. First and foremost, the passing of Sandy Buhrman and Tom Conrad. On June 20, 2026, both Sandy Buhrman and Tom Conrad passed away. This was just as shocking to me as it was too many of you. I would ask each one of you to continue to keep the Buhrman family in your thoughts and prayers. The sudden and unexpected loss of Tom Conrad, husband to Kathy Conrad, was very sad. Tom meant the world to Kathy. I know this loss was very hard for her. Kathy has been the force that has held this organization together for many years. She always gave her time and effort to the BRPBA. After the loss of Tom, Kathy decided to resign her position on the BRPBA executive board so that she could spend more time with her family. I can only say, “Kathy, you will be missed on the board”. I hope that you can find time to heal and be with your family. Please keep Kathy and her family in your thoughts and prayers during this very difficult time.

As a result of Kathy’s resignation and the death of Mike May, two positions on the board became open. To keep our organization running effectively, it was imperative for me to fill these two open positions. Under our Bylaws, it is my responsibility to name replacements for board positions that become open. Once I determine who will fill an open position, it is the duty of the executive board to approve of this person. 

I chose George Stiemly to fill the open position of BRPBA secretary. Additionally, I chose Pete Haduch to fill the open position within the Board of Governors. The majority of the executive board approved of these appointments. I want to thank both George and Pete for agreeing to accept these positions. 

When I began filling in as President due to Daryl’s illness, I saw a need to upgrade our organizations data management practices. I also believe improvements can be made to our website that would provide a better level of service for our members. I looked at FOP Lodge 3 because they are currently in the mist of upgrading their technological footprint. They are modernizing their member database and are including modern case management practices to better serve their members. They are updating their website that will allow members to be better served.

FOP Lodge 3 did an extensive vetting of 5 separate IT companies that could provide the services they wanted to upgrade. They determined that MemberLeap was the best company to accomplish this task. This was due to price and ease of working with the IT company to accomplish the transition they required.

Since we have many of the same issues, I believe that MemberLeap can provide the same service for our organization.

Member Benefits

· A better BRPBA website that allows members to update personal data directly on the website. The website will also allow members to fill out forms such as distress fund applications and scholarship applications. Once members change personal information, it is automatically updated on our member database.

· Enhanced communication abilities. Board members will have the ability to send email blasts and text message alerts for important subjects that affect our members. i.e. Pension alerts, Vital healthcare updates, death notices, funeral notices, etc…

· Allow members to make donations, dues payments, etc. on our website. These payments would automatically be sent to the appropriate BRPBA money account. No more checks!!!

Organization Benefits

· Centralized membership data and communications.  

· Replaces scattered spreadsheets, email lists, and disconnected systems with a single member database.

· Tracks Membership status, Dues and renewals, committees and participation.

· Can reduce administrative workload and work duplication and improve overall operational efficiency.

· Having one integrated system instead of multiple vendors and disconnected tools.

· All data will be secure and in one place. It will be accessible by all board members 

At the June membership meeting, the technology upgrade proposal was presented to the membership. A vote was taken to determine whether to proceed with these technology upgrades or not to proceed. I am pleased to announce the membership overwhelmingly voted yes to conduct the technology upgrades necessary to keep our organization running effectively. Updates will be provided as these upgrades are made. 

By the time you read this newsletter, the 2026 Distress Fund Raffle will be under way. I encourage you to sell as many raffle tickets as possible. As you all know, all proceeds from this raffle support our distress fund. I can’t emphasize enough how important the distress fund is to members in need. 

Our membership meetings start anew in September. September’s meeting will be on the 16TH at 7PM. I hope to see many of you at this meeting. As always, if you have any ideas concerning things our organization could do for our members, please reach out to someone on the board.

Take Care,

Mike Wilhelm

President

Baltimore Retired Police Benevolent Association