Bureau of Justice Assistance

Volume 2 • Issue 2 • september 2007G.r.e.A.t. News

Attn:Mailing information will be placed here. Check with your local printer/mail house to determine specific information.

No VioleNce is G.R.e.A.T.

© 2007 by the Institute for Intergovernmental Research® (IIR) on behalf of the Gang Resistance Education And Training (G.R.E.A.T.) Program. All rights reserved. For permission to make copies or otherwise use the content herein, contact IIR at (800) 726-7070.

G.r.e.A.t. NAtIoNAl proGrAm offIce

Post Office Box 12729Tallahassee, FL 32317-2729

Phone: (800) 726-7070Fax: (850) 386-5356

Western Region

www.great-online.orgG.R.E.A.T. Western RegionPortland Police Bureau449 NE Emerson St.Portland Oregon 97211

THE “SURF’S UP” ON G.R.E.A.T.’s NEW WEB SITE

If you have not recently visited G.R.E.A.T.’s Web site at www.great-online.org, you are encouraged to do so. The site has been substantially restructured and updated with new information and helpful features.

• Do you need more information about how the G.R.E.A.T. Program is organized to make a presentation about G.R.E.A.T.?

• Have you ever wondered how to use the G.R.E.A.T. name and logo on law enforcement vehicles?

• Who can you contact about G.R.E.A.T. grant-funding questions?

• What is required to maintain G.R.E.A.T. officer certification?

• Do you know what G.R.E.A.T.’s vision, mission, and slogan are?

• In what region are you located?

The answers to these and other common questions are located on G.R.E.A.T.’s home Web page. Simply click on the applicable links across the top of the page and on the icons for the strategic plan, policy manual, training procedures, and organizational chart.

All G.R.E.A.T. officers should periodically check the G.R.E.A.T. Officer Resources page. The link to this critical resources page is located on the home page. When officers access the resources page, they will be asked to log in to the officer database.

A comprehensive database has been linked to this resources page that facilitates the process of ordering student handbooks, tracking completed officer training, and communicating with officers. Officers must remember to update their contact information so that information about conferences, training opportunities, and other items of interest can be communicated.

If you have any suggestions for improving the Web site, please send an e-mail to the G.R.E.A.T. Program Training Coordinator using the Contact link at the top of the Web page. We hope you enjoy surfing the new Web site!

Western RegionPortland Police Bureau 449 NE Emerson St. Portland, Oregon 97211

1-800-823-7188 Fax (503) 823-4162Regional Administator: Sergeant Frank Gorgone

Regional Administrative Assistant: Narcisa Delgado-Grubb

No VioleNce is G.R.e.A.T.

No VioleNce is G.R.e.A.T.

G.R.E.A.T. Promotional ProductsWhere to Buy Them

One of the nice things about being a G.R.E.A.T. officer is being able to promote the program by providing G.R.E.A.T.-branded items to G.R.E.A.T. students and other people in the community. Not only do recipients enjoy receiving the incentives, but they give the program a recognizable presence in the community. It is not uncommon for someone wearing a G.R.E.A.T. shirt to be stopped and asked to explain the meaning of the logo. Most of the authorized G.R.E.A.T. products vendors sell a wide variety of products, including such items as calculators, T-shirts, pens, gym bags, sports balls, award medallions, and other novelty items. There are also two specialty vendors: Good News Gifts sells a Child Safety Cube (a fun way to remind young children to follow safety rules), and International EZ-UP which markets portable shelters bearing the G.R.E.A.T. logo (very useful for summer programs and community events). A complete listing of contact information can be found on the G.R.E.A.T. Web site, www.great-online.org, which provides links to each vendor listed below.Marketing of G.R.E.A.T.-branded merchandise is limited to a select group of merchants. Each vendor has been screened by the national leadership of the G.R.E.A.T. Program, according to established vendor criteria and is licensed to sell merchandise bearing the official G.R.E.A.T. logo. It is important to note that only licensed vendors can legally sell items that bear the trademarked G.R.E.A.T. logo.

Currently only the vendors listed below are licensed to market G.R.E.A.T.-branded merchandise.

Best Expression Phoenix, AZ (800) 931-8931

Creative Impressions Vancouver, WA (800) 654-0724

Good News Gifts Inc. Marmora, NJ (610) 283-5248

Holsen Merchandising, Inc. Miami, FL (305) 737-0793

Industries for the Blind West Allis, WI (414) 778-3040

Quality Resource Group Onalaska, WI (877) 897-1050

Treadway Graphics/Forrester-Smith Faribault, MN (800) 658-7063

Vanguard Direct/Corporate Headquarters New York, NY (800) 369-0500, ext. 128

Portable Shelters International E-Z UP, Inc. Riverside, CA 92507 (800) 457-4233, ext. 2316

Vendor licensing procedures are available on the G.R.E.A.T. Web site, and G.R.E.A.T. officers who wish to purchase G.R.E.A.T.-branded supplies from merchants in their own communities are invited to refer their local vendor to this information.

Graduation Certificate Order Forms at www.great-online.org

So Far so good…please remember to fill out your Graduation Certificate Order Form and fax it in 6 to 8 weeks prior to graduation. This will ensure you get your certificates on time and if you need additional certificates it will give us enough time to get them to you.

Also please remember the three types of certificates Elementary (E), Middle (M) and Families (F) are provided at no cost to the G.R.E.A.T. officers of their agencies. It is very essential to the program that you keep track of the number of students or families that graduate. This information is important and needed for statistical purposes for the regional office.

PLEASE even if you have certificates and do not need them from us, fill out your Graduation Certificate Order Form and write -STATS ONLY- then fax form to us at 1-503-823-4162.

Feel free to call 1-800-823-7188 with any questions…We are here to help you.

G.R.E.A.T. Families ComponentThe G.R.E.A.T. Western Region will be hosting Families training on:

October 23 & 24, 2007 - 08:30-17:00

To register go to: www.great-online.orgClick on helpful links and download application.

All addtional training information for G.R.E.A.T. is located on the website.

Follow-UpWestern Region would like to feature “Program Vehicles” in a future Western Region Newsletter. Please e-mail your picture and a history of the vehicle to Regional Administrative Assistant Narcisa Delgado-Grubb at: ndelgdo-grubb@portlandpolice.org

No VioleNce is G.R.e.A.T.

No VioleNce is G.R.e.A.T.G.R.E.A.T. Va a Puerto Rico

(G.R.E.A.T. Goes to Puerto Rico)

For the first time ever, the G.R.E.A.T. Program has conducted training outside the continental United States. This two-week G.R.E.A.T. Officer Training (GOT) was held in San Juan, Puerto Rico, from July 30 to August 10, 2007, in collaboration with the Bureau of Justice Assistance and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). Many law enforcement agencies in Puerto Rico were eager to bring G.R.E.A.T. to their communities, as evidenced by an overflow group of 42 participants. The course was taught by Detective Armando Sotero, Jr., Sergeant P. J. Ferrero (retired), Mr. Mark Bowen, Officer Ron Cash (retired), Officer Cesar Herrera, Officer Karen Lewsader, Officer Harry Mercado, Ms. Angie Moore, and Officer Pete Ontiveros. The administrative work was handled by Corporal Karen Preston, Regional Administrative Assistant for the G.R.E.A.T. Northeast Region, and Special Agent Marco Rodriguez and Mr. Warren Harding of ATF.

The training was not only unique in its location; it was also the first GOT to be conducted completely in Spanish. As a result, the G.R.E.A.T. Instructor’s Manual has been translated. For those teaching in the classroom, this manual will be available for distribution later this year. To have your name added to the list to receive a Spanish-language version of the manual, send an e-mail to information@great-online.org. Please be sure to include your name, agency name, mailing address, and telephone number.

Accompanying the new instructor’s materials is a newly translated version of the Spanish Middle School Student Workbook, which will be available for ordering beginning this fall.

Summer means G.R.E.A.T. times in Hillsboro Oregon:

Officer Adela Rios, Hillsboro, OR

Hillsboro GREAT officers sponsored 6 summer G.R.E.A.T. camps, serving over 125 kids. HPD partnered with the Hillsboro School District, Hillsboro Water Department, Shute Park Aquatic & Recreation Center, and the Inukai Family Boys and Girls Club to teach at-risk 5th graders the G.R.E.A.T. program.

Students learned the difference between a club and a gang and the importance of ‘community’. The students practiced what they learned by ‘beautifying’ their neighborhoods. On their way to the aquatic center for water safely lessons and swimming, the kids picked up over 15 bags of garbage.

Respect was an ongoing topic during G.R.E.A.T. camp, (Respecting yourself, respecting others and respecting property). Visitors from the water department helped demonstrate this concept. Our G.R.E.A.T. kids learned the importance of their drinking water and its source by making an Edible Aquifer model.

The fun didn’t stop there, other ‘campers’ participated in a week long Bike Safety Class and learned the rules of the road. After completing daily bike rides and G.R.E.A.T. lessons, the kids ended their days making art projects.

G.R.E.A.T. officers Denise Leach, Ed Vance, Adela Rios, Victor Castro, Kari Skinner and John Rasmussen are promising next year will be bigger and better!

No VioleNce is G.R.e.A.T.

No VioleNce is G.R.e.A.T.

Grand Forks G.R.E.A.T. Kids Reach Out to NeighborsOfficer Sue Shirek, Grand Forks, ND

Ten years ago, the nation reached out to help Grand Forks, North Dakota recover from a series of blizzards, fires and floods that destroyed or damaged a major portion of the community.

Even though this year’s seventh graders have very few memories of the events surrounding these disasters, their lives have nevertheless been significantly impacted by the stories they have heard about how their families were affected. Many families were temporarily displaced from their homes. Many lost belongings, but everyone in the community was somehow impacted by the good will of other caring citizens throughout the country who sent books, clothes and toys, or came and offered food or labor to help us get back on our feet.

Now the time has come for these kids to give back. School in Grand Forks was set to begin Monday, August 27, 2007. Sunday afternoon, the weather started looking ominous to the south, and by early evening, reports of tornado warnings were surfacing in three different areas nearby.

One of these areas was in the small town of Northwood, North Dakota, approximately ½ hour to the south of Grand Forks. As the evening wore on, reports indicated that a tornado had touched down in Northwood, causing significant damage and resulting in the loss of one life. Final reports indicated that an F-4 tornado had passed through the city damaging 90% of the buildings, including the school.

Due to the climate in our area, repairs must be made before the weather becomes too cold, and a sense of immediacy is present in helping to get the town back on its feet.

With that thought in mind, I asked all 7th grade teams in my schools if we could do things a little different this year. Normally, I teach half the kids the first half of the year, and the other half after Christmas. This year, I asked for the support of the teachers in getting ALL the kids started on their G.R.E.A.T. projects right away, so that we can help our neighbors in need.

The teachers were thrilled, and the kids will be starting their projects right away.

In the past, kids have chosen their own projects, and have donated their time, talent and monies to everything from phone cards for local soldiers serving overseas, to volunteering at the Humane Society, to teaching elementary kids about bullying, or picking up trash in the neighborhoods. Their response to the G.R.E.A.T. project has always been awesome. This year will be different. This year the kids of G.R.E.A.T. will be speaking with a unified voice.

This year, over 500 kids will donate their time, talent and fund-raising abilities to help those whose homes and community were damaged or destroyed in Northwood.

These projects will include:Clean up in the city of NorthwoodPassing the hat at University of North Dakota home football gamesPainting and rehabbing homes and buildingsAdopting students in the Northwood school systemTaking part in a joint fund-raising effort in the community by serving food, cleaning up, working at games, etc.

There are many things the kids will be doing. Clean up will be a long process. The school is structurally unsafe. Normal is a long ways away.The 7th graders of Grand Forks will be doing their best to give back and help out. They truly are GREAT.