As I am sure most of you are aware, earlier this year, Dan Rosenblatt, IACP executive director, announced that he will be leaving his position at the conclusion of this year’s annual conference in Chicago, Illinois. The IACP’s record of accomplishment and stability during Dan’s tenure as executive director is a testament to both his leadership and to the quality of the staff he assembled at IACP headquarters. Dan will certainly be missed by the IACP leadership and the membership as a whole.
Dan has served as the IACP executive director for 22 years. Prior to joining the IACP, Dan worked with the Watergate Special Prosecution Force, the U.S. Department of Justice, and the Police Foundation. He joined the IACP in 1985 as the director of the Information and Services Division and, in 1987, was appointed deputy executive director. He was appointed the association’s executive director in 1989.
When Dan became executive director, the IACP was an organization in trouble. Our fiscal affairs were in disarray, our membership numbers were low, and our ability to fulfill our mission of assisting the law enforcement profession was greatly reduced. These were difficult years and many hard choices needed to be made.
Today’s IACP is what most could only dream of a quarter century ago. The association is built on a solid financial base and is providing a wide variety of meaningful services to its membership. Its positions accurately and consistently represent the views of police chiefs, and, as a result, the IACP is a well-respected organization that is frequently consulted by leaders of government, the private sector, and the general public.
The association has expanded its global reach substantially and regularly provides a forum for law enforcement executives around the world to meet on topics of vital interest to the international policing community. Its communications vehicles and conference operations are state of the art. The association is looking to the future through a course that is charted by a newly revised strategic plan that will guide its operations for years to come.
Dan will be the first to tell you that the IACP’s success is not attributable to any one person, that the strength and stability of the IACP is drawn from the dedication, the commitment, and the wisdom of its leadership, its members, and its staff. This is, of course, the truth.
However, it is also true that for the past 22 years, the IACP has benefited from Dan’s steady hand and his guidance as it has navigated the myriad challenges that have confronted it.
He has assembled an outstanding staff of dedicated, highly professional, efficient individuals who are responsive to the membership, with a strong sense of customer service and a well-deserved reputation for excellence. Their loyalty and commitment are clear evidence of an environment where collaboration, teamwork, and collegiality are highly valued. They are a harmonious, cohesive unit with the best interests of the members and the profession at heart.
Dan’s ability to work with our organization’s leadership has also been nothing short of amazing. During his tenure as executive director, he has worked closely with 22 IACP presidents and literally hundreds of IACP board and executive committee members, as well as IACP committee and section chairs. His remarkable ability to address multiple and often competing priorities has always served the membership and the law enforcement profession well.
Simply put, each and every day for the last 25 years, our association has benefited from the unique set of skills and talents of Dan Rosenblatt. His passion, dedication, and commitment to serving the best interests of the IACP members and the law enforcement profession have been essential elements in transforming the IACP from the troubled organization of the 1980s into what it is today: the world’s preeminent professional law enforcement organization.
Of course, replacing someone of Dan’s stature is no easy task. To that end, early this year the board of officers established a search committee to help identify and select the association’s next executive director. It is our intention to select and ratify the next IACP executive director by the upcoming annual conference in Chicago.
As for Dan’s future? Outside of looking forward to spending more time with his wife, Lonie, and his two daughters, Anna and Maggie, Dan has let us know that he has no definitive plans for his “post-IACP” life. Of course, even though I would love for Dan to stay, I know that you will all join me in wishing him well as he begins this next phase in his life and his career.
Finally, knowing of and respecting Dan’s humility when it comes to accepting praise for his decades of truly exceptional service to the IACP and the law enforcement profession, I believe it is only fitting to end with one simple message.
“Thanks, Dan.” ■
Please cite as:
Mark A. Marshall, “‘Thanks, Dan,’” President’s Message, The Police Chief 78 (August 2011): 6.
