The Harris County Sheriff’s Office recently hosted the 21st Annual TWLE Training Conference in Houston.  This was the first time the event has been hosted by the Harris County Sheriff’s office and was critiqued by those in attendance as one of the best training conference’s they have attended.  The conference was held at the Hyatt-Regency downtown on May 18 thru May 21, 2009.  The annual event’s yearly focus is training.  Training seminars were conducted throughout the week that included classes from shooting techniques, animal control, homeland security and gang recognition to name just a few which were offered throughout the week.  Many of the participating instructors were from the Harris County Sheriff’s Office as well as other instructors who participated from local jurisdictions. All classes attended were eligible for TCLEOSE seminar credit hours.    The opening ceremony commenced early on Monday, May 18 with the presentation of the colors by the Harris County Honor Guard under the direction of Sgt. Cedric Collier followed by the invocation led by Major Edwin Davis.  A wonderfully prepared breakfast that was enjoyed by all as the attendees were welcomed by the newly elected Harris County Sheriff, Adrian Garcia.  Sheriff Garcia encouraged the attendees to actively participate in the training seminars and use this time to develop avenues of networking with the various agencies represented.  The attendees also enjoyed an inspirational guest speaker, Mr. Teeba Rose who spoke of self empowerment and attainment of one’s goals.  Other members of the Command Staff in attendance for opening ceremony was Major Fred Brown who helped in sponsoring the event.    Tuesday night was Fiesta Night which was held at the local restaurant, Fiesta Guadalajara located at 3522 Irvington.  This was an event open to all which provided a night of good food and music provided by DJ The Piedpiper.    The general meeting of members was held on Wednesday night with the election of new officers to fill open positions.  Among those elected was Deputy Louise Skinner (HCSO) who was elected to fill the position of chaplain for the organization for the next election cycle.   Also elected into office for the next term were Christy Bonilla (US OIG) as First Vice President, Paula Parker (Missouri City PD) as Second Vice President, Tina McMullen (Panola County SO) as Secretary, and Rachel Malone (US OIG) as Treasurer.    The event ended Thursday night with the closing awards banquet.  The guest speaker was Houston Police Department Assistant Chief Vicki King who told of her early struggles as a female in law enforcement to achieve her goals and not settle for anything else short of accomplishing those goals.  The banquet was also to honor and recognize women in law enforcement across the State for their accomplishments.  Each recipient was presented a plaque by current TWLE President, Carrie Wise of the Dallas Police Department.  Those award winners were Medal of Valor awarded to Leslie Claunch (Stafford P.D.), Vision Award – Trisha Ruthledge (T.A.B.C.), Lifetime Achievement Award - Lisa Dvorak (San Marcos P.D.) Officer of the Year – Janice Crowther (Dallas P.D.), and Leadership Award – Yolanda Davis (Sugarland P.D.).   The Harris County Sheriff’s Office planning committee would like to thank all of those who helped make this event a huge success.  Without your support and contributions, this event would not have been successful.  As the first hosting committee for HCSO, we encourage the women of the Harris County Sheriff’s Office to actively participate in next year’s event and give a strong representation of the many intelligent, hard-working women that represent the Harris County Sheriff’s Office and TWLE.  The 2010 conference is expected to be hosted in the Dallas area.  TWLE encourages the return of our numerous members and welcomes those that are interested in becoming members.