Hispanic Law Enforcement Society of Essex County P.O Box 1115 Newark, New Jersey 07101 President George Torres 1st Vice President Peter Malave 2nd Vice President Juleesa Burgos Secretary Raquel Ferrer Treasurer Julian Jova Corresponding Jessica Mendez Historian William Maldonado Sergeant -‐At-‐ Arms Vilma Plaza Chaplain Erica Silva-‐Lopez Legal Advisor Antonia Rosa Trustees Carlos Nazario Barbara Rosario April 3, 2015 H.L.E.S members, The executive board and I would like to thank Ricardo Maldonado for the invitation to answer questions in an open forum. Although this idea of an open forum may be attention grabbing, I would like to call closer attention to the fact that our members are invited to pose questions, raise concerns, and request substantiation of any H.L.E.S decisions or direction in our general monthly meetings. I would also like to note that many members have taken the opportunity to do so in a tasteful manner. As an executive board, we have opted to decline the referenced invitation for a number of reasons, which I will address individually. A reference was made to suggest that an open forum could improve information transparency, which was then followed by a similar post advocating for vision, direction, and goal setting. The difficulty for my board and me is in understanding if the members have questions for the candidates, or is the question merely “to ASK President George Torres IF he accepts the OPEN FORUM”? In addition, if the request is for the sharing of vision, direction, and goals, then why are these not the topics being posted for members to read, internalize, and discuss? The position of President and the future of this organization should not be treated frivolously, nor should we be subjecting our members to an inaccurate depiction of what is expected of us. We represent strong, intelligent, hard working, and sophisticated men and women who deserve to be led by a group of people who embody these same attributes. We are an organization that was created to support, develop, inspire, and empower our fellow Latinos in Law Enforcement. Our mission should not be guided by ill intentions, nor should we lose sight of the fact that our goals for this organization should be to lead with integrity, compassion, and respect for one another. As always, all members are welcome to pose any questions or concerns to my executive board or me. Our goal has always been and will continue to be, to address the needs of our members and the community. 1 Thank you, As always, all members are welcome to pose any questions or concerns to my executive board or me. Our goal has always been and will continue to be, to address the needs of our members and the community. Thank you, George Torres President, H.L.E.S 2