The International Law Enforcement Educators and Trainers Association 2008 Conference was held on April 1-5, 2008 in the Chicago suburb of Wheeling, Illinois. Over 800 law enforcement educators and trainers assembled in order to share the latest knowledge and skills during this annual conference.
"The purpose of the Annual ILEETA Conference", explained ILEETA Executive Director Ed Nowicki "is to equip instructors with the knowledge and skills needed to share with the men and women who protect society". There were a variety of tracks of instruction, for example instructor certification courses, terrorism-intelligence, use of force, officer survival, media relations and mutli-media. There were several prominent guest speakers: LtCol Dave Grossman, U.S Army (Ret) who is also an ILEETA Advisory Board Member and Randy Means, Esquire. The opening ceremony keynote speaker was Craig Floyd, the executive director of the National Law Enforcement Officer's Memorial Fund.
Participants came from every state in the United States as well as Canada, Norway, Holland, the Netherlands, Australia and the United Kingdom. Officer Joe Vanecek, the Training Officer for the Independence Police Department (Ohio) said "This conference was outstanding, immense networking. So many great classes and choices of training, he did not have enough hours in the day." The greatest benefit is the networking with trainers and seeking solutions for problems. What is often referred to as 'incidental learning' or what some refer to as the 'academy experience' occurred all week. It is also what you glean from others over a coffee or dinner, their insights into a problem area may be your solution.
Additionally, there were over 123 vendors on hand to display the latest technologies and equipment in a sold out vendor expo. Here participants could interact with the companies that provide trainers equipment. Deputy D.J. Thompson of the Rockdale County Sheriff's Office (GA) stated that "This was the best law enforcement conference I have ever attended". When Deputy Thompson was asked what advice he would give a fellow trainer about attending next year's conference. "Don't think; just go next year," as he was inquiring when next year's conference would be.
There was more than classes; competition was intense. The International Iron Cop Cup tested officer's physical limits. The ILEETA Cup shooting contests had all aiming for center mass. This year was the International Police Driving Competition, which had a state of the art simulator with lights and siren stress. The 6th World Cop Donut Eating Championship was a calorie packed night with 90 or more hungry cops. The last day was the Flatfoot 5K, for those of us who needed to burn off the 'power rings' (donuts). Plus every night was an informal hospitality room with food and networking. The last night was the trivia contests with prizes for those who knew the tidbits of life, sports and Copland facts.
It is interesting to note that all five of the championships were big fund raisers. All money was divided between the ILEETA Scholarship Fund and the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund. The ILEETA Scholarship Fund provides many scholarships for deserving trainers to attend the conference at no cost. The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, we all know is important here... honoring our Brother and Sister officers that gave lives to protect others. How could you be considered a loser in a competition when your entry fee went to help a trainer save lives by learning new skills and honoring the heros of law enforcement?
The ILEETA Advisory Board has already begun preparing for next year's annual training conference. So if you are a trainer and need to get your training in high gear, we will see you there. This training conference is where it happens!
