President's Message

May 1, 2023

Greetings Alumni,

The countdown is on for another graduating class of the FBI Citizens Academy. Graduation will be on May 16th and we are looking forward to having new members join our alumni association. I would personally like to thank Season Allen, FBI Birmingham Training Specialist, for everything she has done to organize the class and keep things running smoothly. Season is currently covering some of the past duties of Paul Daymond since he has transitioned to his new role.  

EVENTS YOU DON”T WANT TO MISS

July 18th - There will be a tour of FBI @ Redstone 

September 28th - Tour of Quantico

Look for Redstone Tour Agenda and  link to sign up in this Newsletter- Paid Alumni Only

Your board of directors puts a lot of time and effort into organizing special events for you. Our chapter has been historically successful in having a Chapter of Excellence in organizing events, outreach and chapter partnerships. Please take advantage of the opportunities that are offered and also let us know what type of events you would be interested in attending. 

As always we value your partnership and your participation to keep our chapter energized and successful. It takes all of us to remain committed to the mission of our chapter, which is to partner with the FBI in providing resources in support of their mission in North and Central Alabama. 

Thank you for your continued commitment to the FBICAAA. 

Jennifer

Happy March!

I hope that all of you are doing well!

There are no Birmingham or Huntsville FBICA graduates who do not know Paul Daymond. You were all selected by Paul to participate in the FBICA and he has always been known to choose the best of the best! Paul has been the backbone of the FBICA classes throughout the years and has set the bar to a very high standard. In case you don’t know, Paul is no longer with the Birmingham Division of the FBI and will now be working directly for our former SAS, Johnnie Sharp in Huntsville. I’d just like to take this opportunity to thank Paul for all of his support for our organization over the years. He is a dear friend to many of us. Paul, best of luck in your new role.

As we say goodbye to Paul, we also welcome a new SAC to Birmingham. I had the privilege of meeting SAC Carlton Peeples recently to review our Memorandum of Agreement for the FBICAAA for 2023. Mr. Peeples is very excited to be in Birmingham and looks forward to working with us as we continue to support the FBI with our outreach programs.

It’s going to be a stellar year with the FBICAAA! My hope is that you will look for opportunities to network and serve. Our board of directors works hard to put together events that will bring us together and make us a Chapter of Excellence. We hope to see you soon!

Yours,

Jennifer

Happy New Year Alumni,

We have wrapped up 2022 and the first year of my term as FBICAAA President. I can't thank the 2022 Board Members enough for everything they have done to support the chapter this year. I would like to thank all of the board members who are rolling off. They have served our chapter well!

Rolling off

Vanessa Vargas

Marc Curles

Tim Johns

Arthur Price

TJ Knight

Joe Dinoto

Graham Sisson (Graham is staying active as our legal counsel).

Amanda Jarrett

New Board Members

Sam Roberts - Birmingham

April Tolbert - Birmingham

Ginger Ory - Huntsville

Emerald Jones - Huntsville

Lindsay Rice - Huntsville

The Board will be meeting to plan events and outreach efforts for 2023 in mid-January. We hope to arrange a tour of the new FBI facilities in Huntsville for all members sometime this summer. Be checking for announcements on upcoming events.

If you haven’t yet paid your dues for 2023, remember that you now have the Lifetime member option for only $500. We hope to increase our outreach and our membership this year and we can’t do it without you. We humbly ask that you help support our chapter with your renewed membership and plan on ways to get involved with our outreach efforts.

Again, thank you all for your commitment to the organization.

Blessings,

Jennifer

Greetings and Happy Holidays Alumni,

It’s one of the busiest times of year for so many of us as we get ready to transition through the holidays and into a New Year! We’ve had a successful 2022 coming off the backside of the pandemic, however, I’m hoping that 2023 will bring even more engagement from our alumni! As you are making your new year resolutions, remember the FBICAAA and find ways to get engaged!

As many of you know, our Chapter partners with The WellHouse to help support female victims of human trafficking. The WellHouse provides residential therapeutic programs women who have been sexually exploited, offering medical, spiritual, mental and emotional care. The FBIBCAAA has adopted The WellHouse this Christmas to provide each of these ladies a “Stocking of Hope”. Hopefully you have seen the flyer by now. Please think about giving a donation to help fund this project. Items for Stockings of Hope will be purchased with the donations and all other donations between now and Dec. 16th will be donated to the WellHouse. Thank you for considering your gift, big or small! Every little bit helps these ladies who are starting over. 

If you haven’t already, please look for our Facebook group, “FBI Birmingham Citizens Academy Alumni Association.”

I pray you and your families have a safe, happy and healthy holiday season and look forward to the great ways we can serve our communities in 2023!

Thank you, 

Jennifer

Greetings Alumni,

The FBICAAA Birmingham Board of Directors recently voted to start offering a Lifetime Membership in 2023 for the great value of $500! This membership fee would be non-refundable and non-transferrable. Non-transferrable means that should you move to another state and want to join their chapter you would have to pay their fees. Not all chapters offer the Lifetime option. The Lifetime option is also not retro-active. 

As many of you know the benefits of joining the chapter include: 

• Official Communications
• Invitations to select activities
• Alumni newsletter
• Invitations to exclusive briefings
• Range Day
• Field Trip to Quantico & FBIHQ
• Members-only communications, Group social media and website access
• Eligibility to serve as an officer or board member
• Voting privileges 

When you start receiving renewal reminders this year, please consider the Lifetime Option. Of course you are still able to pay year-to-year for $75.00. 

We continue to add volunteer and community outreach options every year. We plan to vote in our new Board members at our Annual Meeting on December 1st! We hope you will join us! Be looking for details! 

Thank You,

Jennifer

Greetings everyone,

I hope this message finds everyone doing well! The FBICA Fall class in Birmingham is underway and we hope to have several new graduates join our chapter upon graduation.

I am sure we all remember the excitement of those weeks learning more about the FBI and why we all became ambassadors for the organization. It seems, however, since Covid it has become much more of a challenge to get members engaged despite our efforts.

WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU!

What sort of activities would you like to see more of?

Are you interested in serving?

If you have ideas for events for our chapter, we welcome hearing from you! Our board members are all volunteers and work hard to try to get members engaged. We need you!

Please continue to watch for announcements in our weekly blasts. Try to commit to one or two events each year to volunteer for. Don’t miss out on upcoming events! Announcements are sent out weekly!

Thank you,

Jennifer

Greetings everyone,

I hope this message finds everyone doing well! I want to start out this column with a big congratulations to Johnnie Sharp on his promotion to Assistant Director of the IT Infrastructure Division in Huntsville. With the growth of the FBI campus in Huntsville we know Johnnie will be a huge asset in serving in that role. Not all FBICAAA Chapters are fortunate enough to have a supportive SAC. Johnnie has been supportive of our chapter since he came to Birmingham in 2017. While we are sad to see him go, we are happy he is not going far and we are confident he will continue to be a supporter of the FBI Birmingham CAA. Thank you, Johnnie for everything!

The FBI fall class will start on September 13th at the FBI Field Office in Birmingham. It’s always an exciting time to meet future potential alumni. It is important to continue to grow our chapter and continue with our community service and outreach efforts. If you are able to volunteer in any capacity for the events listed in our newsletter, please respond. Not only do we have a lot of fun, it is a great way to network with local professionals in your area.

Our board members meet monthly to discuss new ways to get members engaged. If you have ideas for events for our chapter, we welcome hearing from you! Our board members are all volunteers and work hard to try to get members engaged. We need you!

Don’t miss out on upcoming events! Announcements are sent out weekly!

Thank you,

Jennifer

Hello everyone,

I hope this message finds all of you well!

We have a lot of exciting things to share this month. Lisa Cooper, Paul Daymond, Paul Franklin and I had the opportunity to go to the FBICAAA National Conference in Norfolk, VA in June. Not only were we fortunate to accept the Chapter of Excellence Award for 2021 (see photos). Thanks to all of you who weathered the “Covid” storm and helped Paul Franklin and last year’s Board earn this Award!

We also came away with some great ideas to propel our Chapter forward. What we need from you is a little bit of your time to help us keep the momentum we are gaining. Please take time to review the FBIBCAAA Alerts our communication team puts out weekly to find areas where you can serve our chapter and our communities.

We are working to put together a TogGolf fundraiser in the spring. Our goal is to have the same day scheduled at the TopGolf locations in Huntsville and Birmingham. We will start by inviting our friends at the FBI and follow up by reaching out to other local law enforcement agencies. Our plan is to make this an annual fundraiser. If you would like to assist in coordinating this event and have some experience in Fundraising, please contact me at 205-914- 7075 or email me at President@fbicaaa-bham.org. Be watching for more information.

One of the FBIBCAAA missions is to assist the WellHouse in providing opportunities for restoration for female victims of human trafficking. Be sure to see our WellHouse feature in this Newsletter.

If your organization would be willing to provide job training or employment opportunities for these women please e-mail, Jim Stroud at jim.stroud88t@gmail.com. Jim not only serves on our board of directors, but also serves on the board for the WellHouse. If your organization would be willing to help it would truly be a blessing.

Please check out the alerts and the newsletter for ways to get involved. We look forward to seeing you all soon! Our next board meeting will be held in Alabaster on August 16 at 6:00 at the Shelby County Instructional Services Center. All members are welcome to attend!

Thank you,

Jennifer

Hello everyone!

I hope that everyone is enjoying the summer while also surviving the heat. Many of you are getting excited about the World Games coming to Birmingham! I know many of our alumni have put in a lot of work to make sure Birmingham is represented well. I will be attending Drone Drag Racing and can’t wait to see what it is all about.

Thank you to all who came out recently to our Members Only dinner in Cullman in June. A special thank you to Matt Tootle for sharing information on Elder Abuse. Agent Tootle also talked about the FBI’s response to the shooting at St. Stephen’s where three people were killed. Thank you to the FBI and all the first responders for what you do every day to keep our communities safe and assist in tragic situations like this.

I hope to have much more to share in my next column following the FBICAAA National Conference. In the meantime, please enjoy your summer and stay safe!

Blessings,

Jennifer

Hello fellow alumni,

I am overjoyed to announce the graduation of 23 new alumni from the Spring FBI Citizens Academy. It has been two years since we have been able to have a class graduate from Huntsville. We had a large representation of attendees from our Board of Directors on graduation night May 17^th to meet and greet the new alumni and we are excited to see what they will be able to contribute to our Chapter. The graduating class, as all are (thanks to the great Paul Daymond), is a very talented and dynamic group!

With every graduating class comes a revitalized energy for our membership. As I told the group on the night of graduation, they are the future of our association, our Board, and our mission. We hope that ALL alumni make a commitment to stay involved and we are working hard behind the scenes to organize more events for our members.

I want to give a HUGE thank you to Bobby Blankenship at Twin Peaks for the outstanding catering. It was some of the best food we’ve had for a graduation dinner. Huntsville alumni, you’ve got to go by Twin Peaks and try their roast and their salmon. It is exceptional! Thank you also to all the board members that were able to attend!

Details will be coming soon on a members only meeting scheduled for June 21st in Huntsville. We hope to see many of you there! Be watching for an announcement. Enjoy your summer and be safe!

Wishing you many blessings,

Jennifer