It is with great pleasure that I announce that our newly elected President of the Alaska Chapter, Barry Wilson (Session #244) was recently appointed Colonel, and Director of the Division of the Alaska State Troopers. Barry is certainly up to the task and I have promised to assist him with the chapter requirements during this very busy time in his career. Colonel Wilson is going to do an excellent job in both positions, as well as with the other charitable organizations for which he volunteers. Barry has been with the Department of Public Safety since 1990 and he worked in patrol, investigations, headquarters and rural patrol command. He is excited about the opportunity to work with his staff and the entire department to improve morale amongst the ranks, improve training for all, and develop a strategic plan to make certain effective staffing is available throughout Alaska.
Colonel Barry Wilson, President (Session #244)
Colonel Wilson’s last position with the Alaska State Troopers was as the commander of C Detachment in Anchorage. Captain Andrew Merrill (Session #257), our current Secretary/Treasurer and commander of the Village Public Safety Officer program with the Alaska State Troopers has been assigned to command C Detachment.. We are very proud of Andrew as he was one of eight distinguished graduates, as well as the graduation speaker during his National Academy session. Andrew joined the Alaska State Troopers in 2002 and he has worked in various assignments to include judicial services, patrol, and rural investigations. Andrew is a certified instructor through the Alaska Police Standards Council and he was one of our excellent presenters on the use of force at our 2018 Executive Development Conference.
Captain Andrew Merrill, Secretary/Treasurer (Session #257)
Good luck to both of these outstanding professionals as they lead us into the future of policing here in Alaska.
Barry decided to run for President before his two-year term as Vice President of the Southcentral Region had concluded. The Board of Directors unanimously voted in favor of appointing Deputy Chief Ken McCoy (Session #265) from the Anchorage Police Department to fill that seat for the remainder of Barry’s term. For our first meeting of 2019, Barry was out of town, which by our chapter bylaws left Ken, at his very first meeting of the board, in charge of leading the meeting. He ran it professionally and seamlessly. Ken is an excellent addition to the Board of Directors. Ken began his law enforcement career with the Anchorage Police Department in 1994, where he has served in command assignments in patrol, investigations and internal affairs. He was promoted to Deputy Chief in 2017 where he oversees all operations and administrative activities for nearly 600 sworn and non-sworn employees.
Deputy Chief Ken McCoy, Vice President Southcentral Region (Session #265)