Dear I.A.P.E. Member, 

As the new President of I.A.P.E., I am delighted that the Board has selected me to continue in the journey started by Robin Trench.

Robin's dedication, loyalty, and her enthusiasm towards property room management and the future I.A.P.E. are difficult to describe. Without Robin's vision the Evidence Log would have never reached the professional status that it has, and her journalistic ability, demonstrated so regularly in producing the Evidence Log, will be sorely missed. The organization's constant progress has been due in large part to Robin's professionalism and driving force.

On behalf of the Board of Directors, let me apologize for any unanswered phone calls, delays on invoices, or any other clerical or administrative shortcomings in the recent past. In addition to redistributing the myriad duties which had been performed by Robin, we recently moved our general offices from Las Vegas, Nevada, to Burbank, California. It remains my goal, and the goal of the Board, to respond to every inquiry the same day it is received as part of providing you with the highest level of service possible.

I ask for your continued patience during the transition, as we complete the move. Typical of the inconveniences was a telephone company error misdirecting all of our 800 line calls to a private residence in Pasadena, California, for over four days. Needless to say it was a nuisance to the resident, who had no idea what an "IAPE" was. If Officer Steve Scott from Middle Tennessee State University had not located me at home through contributing author Mike Rigdon, the problem could have gone on longer before being discovered. Thanks, Steve, for your perseverance! 

We now can assure you that I.A.P.E. will have a full training schedule in 1997, even though the distribution of the training schedule has been delayed. We are once again fully staffed and actively making training arrangements, so expect the schedule within a month or so. In addition, we have a number of new authors, columns, vendors and services that will be on board in this issue of the Evidence Log or the next. I am confident that LA.P.E. will be increasingly beneficial for property and evidence personnel in our country, and throughout the world ..

I want each of you to take part, and I promise to make every effort to share your less heralded successes, ideas, and programs right alongside of those occurrences that place property rooms in the headlines. A new component of the Evidence Log will be a column devoted to sharing newspaper stories nationwide that have discredited agencies in their communities. We will do what we can to avoid embarrassing the departments, but will share the factual information so that you and your department best understand how to avoid falling victim to the liabilities which we know plague property rooms. In addition, we will begin a series providing our readers with current property room standards which have been adopted by nationally recognized law enforcement organizations, and discuss implementation of those guidelines for the successful management of a property room.

This will be an exciting year. I am absolutely positive that you will be delighted with this year's Evidence Log, training courses, publications and other I.A.P.E. services. It is my pleasure to be a part of our service to you. 

Sincerely,