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On Christmas Day, the North Carolina Police Benevolent Association lost
a true friend. But more importantly, we lost one of the instrumental
elements of NC PBA existence, Clyde Dagenhart Jr.
It was the spring of 1986 when I was contacted by this former police
officer that had been one of my Field Training Officers at the Raleigh
Police Department. Having left the department some years previous, to go
into business for himself, he had kept in touch. When he called me that
fateful day, he asked if I would be willing to speak with a former
partner of his that had moved on to another department in GA. That
officer was a part of something he thought I might be interested in. I
agreed to accept his contact.
I received the call and listened as the Georgia officer explained this
great program called PBA. He asked if I would be interested in meeting
with someone from the organization for more information. I agreed. In
short order I was sitting in a hotel restaurant listening to Jack
Roberts explain the benefits of the Police Benevolent Association. It
sounded too good to be true. So after that meeting I did some checking
and found it to be legit. I joined. A few officers from western NC had
joined the previous fall. With these simple beginnings, PBA swept across
NC.
Within a year, there was a NC Division established, a Board of
Directors, a first Division meeting, and the first political screening
held. The result was a successful endorsement of Rufus Edmisten for NC
Secretary of State. Within a few years, NC PBA membership swelled into
the thousands representing officers at all levels of government from all
areas of the state. Some years later, the Raleigh Chapter presented
Clyde with a plaque recognizing his contribution to the NC PBA.
Today, the NC PBA is the premier law enforcement professional
association in NC, respected in the legal and political arenas, as well
as a respected Division in the Southern States PBA. Much of this success
is the result of that call from a friend who wished something better for
law enforcement officers in NC. It was my privilege to have received
that call.
Thank you Clyde, officers across NC will be forever grateful.
May you rest in peace.
Jeffrey Fluck
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