The Daily ICPC Spokane: Day 4 (w/ Jeremy Hockett & Pam Neal)

Welcome to the Daily ICPC; This is a limited podcast series from Hey Chaplain, which follows police chaplains Jared Altic and Jeremy Hockett to Spokane, Washington, to attend the annual training seminar of the ICPC, the International Conference of Police Chaplains.  This series will provide a daily, behind the scenes look at the convention, and this is our Day 4 episode.  Pam Neal has an accent!

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Music is by Everet Almond

The Daily ICPC Episode MS.2.4, by Hey Chaplain

Tags:

Chaplains, Banquet, Classes, Conventions, Fellowship, Food, ICPC, Line of Duty Deaths, Memorials, Police, Training, Spokane, Washington

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:00

I'm Jay Wayne Shasson, the Vice President of the International Conference of Police Chaplains, and we are uh here in Swokan, Washington this week, and we're welcoming chaplains from around the world. And uh excited to hear that we have chaplains from eight different nations uh who are uh in Swokan this week and engaging in uh the phenomenal training that we have prepared uh for them. The exciting uh times of fellowship and encouragement and just uh getting together as chaplains and enjoying uh just being together and and having this time of fellowship but also of education and training. Uh and it's it's gonna be a phenomenal week. I'm excited.

SPEAKER_00 0:44

This is Chaplain Adam Wooten. I'm from the city of Hutchison, Kansas. I am a chaplain over Reno County Sheriff Department in Hutchison, PD. Thank you for listening to Hey Chaplain.

SPEAKER_04 0:54

Pam, tell me about yourself.

SPEAKER_01 0:56

Well, Jared, I am very fortunate. I have been a law enforcement chaplain for 28 years, and I believe that it's a calling that has just been a very special calling on my life to really help police officers.

SPEAKER_04 1:11

So, where are you from?

SPEAKER_01 1:12

I'm from Knoxville, Tennessee.

SPEAKER_04 1:14

I couldn't tell from the accent, right?

SPEAKER_01 1:16

I hear about my accent all the time. But I've been a chaplain 28 years. I've been the chaplain coordinator for our department for 19 years. And I have between 30 and 35 volunteer chaplains all the time. Wow. And we have an amazing chaplain program that you don't find everywhere. We're not just ceremonial. We have somebody on call 24-7, they do ride-alongs. We're there for whatever happens in the department.

SPEAKER_04 1:44

Why did you want to be involved in police chaplaincy?

SPEAKER_01 1:48

My husband was an officer. He's a 32-year veteran of the police department. My grandfather was a lieutenant with the Knoxville Police Department, so it's been a big part of my life. Um, so I it just made sense uh that uh when this opportunity came up, but this was a way that I could help other people because I knew of the stresses of law enforcement and I knew of the stresses on families, which has been a great, it has just been a great fit.

SPEAKER_04 2:21

So you you are a past president of ICPC. I am. Why have you been committed to International Conference of Police Chaplains for so long?

SPEAKER_01 2:30

Jared, I went to my first ATS in 2001, and I found a family of people that had that same kind of dedication. And it has been, of course, a lot of great training over the years, but even better is the fellowship of a family. ICPC is family. We've been there for each other through all these years, and I've I love being a part of it, and uh and it's just been a great blessing to be a part of it.

SPEAKER_04 3:00

Well, I appreciate you. You taught one of my basics classes, and it's just just wonderful to see your enthusiasm every time I run into you.

SPEAKER_01 3:08

It it's very it's real because uh God's blessed me with it, He's allowed me to do a lot of wonderful things, and so it's a privilege for me to be able to help others. When I was a young wife, I thought, my goodness, what's wrong with me that this is so hard? But then when I found other people dealing with it and some of these things that happened with ICPC, it helped me to see, hey, this is part of it. Here's some things we can do to help others.

SPEAKER_04 3:38

That's excellent. Thank you, Pam. Welcome to the Daily ICPC. This is a limited podcast series from Hay Chaplin, which follows police chaplains Jared Altic and Jeremy Hockett to Spokane, Washington to attend the annual training seminar of the ICPC, the International Conference of Police Chaplains. This series will provide a daily behind-the-scenes look at the convention, and this is our day four episode.

SPEAKER_03 4:08

Well, Jared, it was great to hear from Pam Neal. I'm glad you brought her on the program today. Isn't she great? Oh, she is. She is something. I'll tell you what, you were sitting here talking to her, and my mind went back a few years ago to uh when I took my basic classes, and uh, yeah, she taught her also? She taught one of my basic classes also.

SPEAKER_04 4:26

But I think that's a requirement for membership. Well, you know, I see PCs. If Pam Neal had to teach one of your basic classes. If it isn't, it should be, because she is fantastic. I love her enthusiasm. There are so many negative things that you can get fixated on and get worried about. And it's kind of in my nature to, you know, woe is me, here's something else that's wrong. But then Pam Neal walks in the room and she is just a ray of sunshine. You know, I appreciate that.

SPEAKER_03 4:53

I don't think I've ever seen that lady that she did not have a smile on her face. I love it. I love it. She's great. So tell me about last night. Did you go to Chili's again? No. No, I did not go to Chili's last night. I I kind of just took the night off last night. I when I get home, I gotta go back to work, you know, just like you do. So I spent the night uh in my room studying and uh starting getting things ready for Sunday.

SPEAKER_04 5:18

Well, I dodged a bullet because our associate minister is preaching on Sunday. So I don't have to go right back. I am teaching a class, but I don't have to go back and preach. But last night for dinner, I went with my cousins. My cousin and her husband uh picked me up here at the hotel, and we went to a place called the steam plant, which was actually like an historical steam plant. It like had big boilers and steam pipes that used to run through the city to heat the city. Okay, and and now this building, a bunch of brick and ironwork and whatever. You walk in this this not museum-like, but but very much stepping back in time. Very industrial center. Right, yeah, and there's restaurants and a bar and all this stuff. It was really, really neat. Okay. And so we had dinner there, and I had the most wonderful time. I was telling Drew Ashwell that there's no company like Christian brothers and sisters. Now, this is my cousin and her husband, but they were missionaries for years and and they're just good Christian people. Yeah, and I don't get to see them but once every few years. But what a joy to just spend that time with them. Yeah, I'm glad you I'm glad you got to do that, Jerry. Yeah, that was that was special. That was a neat part of getting to come to Spokane. So tell me about your classes today. This was our long day. We had lots of classes today.

SPEAKER_03 6:38

Today was the long day, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 6:40

Did you have one that stood out?

SPEAKER_03 6:41

Did I have you know, I I think I had two. Okay. I had two classes that really stood out. Uh the first one was one I had this morning, uh, a very interesting instructor. He talked about de-escalating, challenging people. And I thought, you know, if nothing else, this will work good in other places of life too. But um he gave me a new definition for SWAT that I had never heard before. Of course, not special weapons and tactics. Not special weapons and tactics, but when you're dealing with de-escalation, it's sit, wait, and talk. Oh, that's nice. That's nice. I like that. I I had never heard of that. Uh but yeah, that was that was that was very interesting. And then uh the other one that stood out to me was was the one you and I just attended together. So that was that was really good. Talking about a young man who almost took his own life.

SPEAKER_04 7:37

Yes.

SPEAKER_03 7:38

And uh with the uh intervention of a very skilled police officer.

SPEAKER_04 7:43

Yes. Yeah, we got to watch the body cam footage. That was really something, of course, the presenter was actually the chaplain and psychologist who then worked with that young man, and yeah, it was fascinating. Yeah, that was that was really, really good. That was a very good class. It's one thing to hear a great war story, it's another thing to hear the story and then also have like, here's some tools you can use, and here's some lessons to be learned, and uh all this layers of application. Yeah, that's so valuable. Yeah, absolutely. That's the kind of thing I really get a lot out from these classes.

SPEAKER_03 8:18

And of course, as chaplains, you know, he talked about okay, that officer did an outstanding job, and he and he absolutely did. But how did it affect him afterwards? Yeah, it cost him. Yes, yes, and the care that he needed and the care that he got. Yeah, and uh and he uh he is doing well today. So that's fantastic.

SPEAKER_04 8:36

Yeah, it it was that was really good. And then I I monitored another class. I did the first I did the first liaison class, which is really special. I I hope that at future ICPC training events, both annual and regional, that people invite police officers who might want to be a go-between and liaison between chaplains in their department. Because ICPC offers a liaison credential. Right. And you take a certain number of hours and specifically these four classes, and and you learn how to run a program of chaplains or how to help interact and interface with chaplains, how to manage chaplains. It's different in every department, but this gives you like the skeleton to build that.

SPEAKER_03 9:24

And it helps them to understand what our mission is. You know, we're we're not there to overrun anybody, we're not there to take anybody's job away from them. Yeah, we just genuinely want to help. Yes. And when they have that training, you know, some of it's exactly like ours, and then they get those extra liaison classes that teaches them how to implement that into their departments. Yeah, it just makes for uh something that's very seamless. Yes.

SPEAKER_04 9:49

The class was taught by Diane Peterson. She's from Anchorage, Alaska. And so I've met multiple Anchorage, Alaska chaplains this week. Okay. And I'm going to Anchorage here in a year. And so, man, if I get a chance to run, I love that. If I'm doing a trip or I'm on a vacation, I get to visit a chaplain or visit a chaplain at their police station. Yeah. That's like the highlight of my trips. And so that'll be that'll be awesome. Great. So, what are we going to next? The next thing we have tonight is the banquet. Ah, yes, yes. And the banquet, you get dressed up and big formal event and good food. And yeah, that is fantastic. Are you are you willing to sit at the same table with me?

SPEAKER_03 10:28

I I was hoping you'd ask, Jerry. I was hoping you would ask. Well, I would think, and so I'm gonna have to take you, Jeremy. Well, you know, you're important. I figured you probably got the plus one with you. Yeah, yeah, no.

SPEAKER_04 10:42

I'd be more important if people knew what a podcast was.

SPEAKER_03 10:45

Well, you know, sometimes there is a little explanation needed there.

SPEAKER_04 10:48

But yeah, well, some several people have have really, you know, they're they're fans of the show, they listen to the show, and they say, Hey, I really appreciate what you're doing. Other people are like, so what is that? It's a podcast. They've been around for like 25 years. Yeah. And they're like, so is that on my phone? Sigh. Yeah. Just in case I thought I was important. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 11:11

Get knocked down a couple pegs. Right. Yeah. Hit the you uh hit the back down to the humility rung on the ladder. That's right.

SPEAKER_04 11:17

That's right, that's right. Don't pray for humility. God will humiliate you. That's right. Well, that's fantastic. And then tomorrow is our last day. We got classes in the morning, closing ceremony, then heading to the airport. Your flight leaves later than mine, right?

SPEAKER_03 11:33

My ho my flight leaves uh sometime in the afternoon. You know, I'm not even sure right now, but yeah. Well, you're my ride.

SPEAKER_04 11:40

And so so hopefully uh you're able to take me to the airport and take Drew to the airport and then turn in your car and get all that process complete and catch your flight.

SPEAKER_03 11:50

Yeah. I don't know what time you're supposed to get back in Kansas City, but I'm not due back to Wichita till almost midnight. That's about when I'm getting to Kansas City. Okay.

SPEAKER_04 11:59

Yeah, I'm flying through Denver. Where are you flying? I'm flying through Denver as well. Yeah, we have a couple hour layover. It'll be funny if we see you get off your plane right as we're getting on ours or something like that. Yeah. Could happen. Well, from Smoke and Washington, this is Jared Altic with Jeremy Hawkett, and this was the Daily ICPC from Hay Chaplin. And as always, let's pray for peace in our cities. Amen.

SPEAKER_01 12:28

Well, is it okay?

SPEAKER_04 12:29

Yes. Okay. That's excellent. Did that is that what you need? It's perfect. It is perfect.

SPEAKER_01 12:34

All right. Thank you for the privilege.

SPEAKER_04 12:36

Thank you. Thank you.