MILLSBORO, Del. - The Fraternal Order of Police Lodge #2 in Millsboro support law enforcement daily, but on Wednesday night they celebrated one another.
In their monthly meeting at the Country Kitchen, the FOP Lodge's board was sworn in during the installation of officers. Each board member will serve a two-year term. They are as follows:
President Robert J. Schappert III - (Maryland SP, Retired)
Vice-President Robert Doty - (Lewes Police Dept., Retired)
Secretary Stephen H. Smyk - (DE State Police, Retired)
Treasurer Jerry Gibson - (US Postal Inspector, Retired)
State Lodge Trustee Sherman Littleton - (Animal Control, Retired)
Chaplain Albert W. Weir - (NYPD, Retired)
Lodge Trustee Victor Guempel - (Elizabeth, NJ PD)
Lodge Trustee Steven V. Smith - (Washington DC PD)
Lodge Trustee Mike Pantazes
Guard – Robert J Hammond – (US Marshall Service)
FOP Lodge #2 looks out for the Georgetown and Dewey Beach Police Departments, as well as other officers in Sussex County. The group also gives back to the community with an annual charity golf tournament, Toys for Tots, and its "Share Your Thanksgiving" and "Share Your Christmas" initiatives.
"We'll find some other areas that need our attention, whether it be law enforcement, retired law enforcement, or families," Schappert says. "We have scholarships that we give out every year."
"Most of us in this lodge are retired officers, but we're all law enforcement or retirees mostly here," Gibson says.
"There's 330,000 police officers in the Fraternal Order of Police," Smyk says. "It's the largest police organization, fraternal organization that looks out for the officers."
The officers will give back to another local family in its Share Your Christmas event on December 17th.