A house RESOLUTION

 

to recognize and honor the police officers of Midlands Lodge #1 of the Fraternal Order of Police and to congratulate them upon the celebration of the lodge's fiftieth anniversary.

 

Whereas, the South Carolina House of Representatives is pleased to learn that Midlands Lodge #1 of Columbia is celebrating its fiftieth anniversary and was the first lodge to form in South Carolina that has stayed active, made up entirely of deputies with the Lexington County Sheriff's Department; and

 

Whereas, these officers searched for a national organization to join that would help them in their endeavors, and they determined that the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) was the only organization that truly consisted of police officers who represented police officers; and

 

Whereas, they contacted the North Carolina State Lodge of the FOP, and those FOP members came to discuss the FOP with them, after which Lexington County deputies began the work of creating a local FOP organization. On February 9, 1976, the first meeting was held in which seventy-five Lexington County deputies, out of seventy-eight serving the county, became charter members and elected its initial officers: Guy Osborne, president; Jack Bowden, vice president; W.T. Scruggs, secretary; and John Robinson, treasurer; and

 

Whereas, on April 22, 1976, the S.C. Secretary of State issued the Certificate of Incorporation to the Midlands Lodge #1, which was known at that time as Lexington County Lodge #2 due to an unsuccessful prior effort by Lancaster County Lodge #1 to establish an FOP Lodge, and later renamed the FOP Midlands Lodge #1 on January 24, 1986; and

 

Whereas, the officers of the Midlands FOP began the task of gathering community support and strength through numbers. They started raising funds for activities and attorney fees if needed, and when their plight became public, support started coming in immediately; and

 

Whereas, around the same time that the Midlands Lodge was formed, officers with the Charleston County Police Department began searching for a national organization to join. They contacted the Georgia State Lodge of the FOP for assistance and discovered that Lexington officers had just formed an FOP lodge; and

 

Whereas, the officers from the Charleston County Police Department chartered the Charleston County Lodge #3. The officers from both lodges began to share information, and in early 1977, officers from Anderson, Oconee, and Pickens counties formed the third lodge called Tri-County Lodge #4; and

 

Whereas, in April of 1977, the three FOP lodges in South Carolina took a bold step to form a state lodge. The first meeting was held at the Ramanda Inn in West Columbia. The national FOP President, Pat Stark, came in to charter the new state lodge and to preside over the meeting to elect state officers. The leadership from the three lodges met and elected the following officers: State President Guy Osborne, Vice President Jim Cleveland, Secretary William Graham, and Treasurer Gilbert Smith. James Longo was elected as the first national trustee; and

 

Whereas, the South Carolina House of Representatives values the camaraderie, support, and fellowship that the Midlands Lodge #1 has provided for fellow officers for half a century, and the members congratulate them for being the longest active lodge in the State of South Carolina. Now, therefore,

 

Be it resolved by the House of Representatives:

 

That the members of the South Carolina House of Representatives, by this resolution, recognize and honor the police officers of Midlands Lodge #1 of the Fraternal Order of Police and congratulate them upon the celebration of the lodge's fiftieth anniversary. 

 

Be it further resolved that a copy of this resolution be presented to Midlands Lodge #1 of the Fraternal Order of Police.

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