Live from Music Row Thursday morning on The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. – host Leahy welcomed all-star panelist, Dr. Carol Swain, to the studio to promote her upcoming virtual national law enforcement tribute.
Leahy: Carol, you are always doing important things. And you have a very important thing coming up next month. Tell us about what this is and provide more details.
Swain: It’s October 17 from 10 a.m. to noon. It’s a national tribute to our law enforcement officers around the nation. And we have the noted Civil Rights activist Bob Woodson.
Leahy: Great guy.
Swain: With The Woodson Center and 1776 Unites. As well as speakers from law enforcement past and present. And I will be speaking and Joni Bryant will be co-hosting it with me.
Leahy: We love Joni Bryant. She is very brave and very intrepid. She’s the co-organizer and executive director of the 917 Society. A great sister organization to the Constitution Bee. Not in terms of legally.
Swain: I’ll let you get to the press release. But we are giving away over 150 gift certificates to active duty law enforcement officers. So if you know anyone, urge them to register. And if you are a business out there and you’d like to sponsor this even just contact me at [email protected] and I will tell you how you can be a sponsor.
Leahy: It’s a virtual event. And we’ll tell you where you can sign up and watch it on October 17 from 10 a.m. to noon central time. The event will feature keynote speaker and recognized Civil Rights activist Robert L. Woodson, Sr. who will offer thanks to officers while sharing key insights into the current environment where they now operate. His address will be titled, No Police, No Peace. I love that.
Swain: I do too. I love that title.
Leahy: That’s a very interesting phrase and you think you may have heard it before. No Police, No Peace. Other speakers include acting and current law enforcement professionals. Kenneth Harms will discuss the politicization of law enforcement. Tell me about that. That’s what you are seeing all over the place. James Smallwood.
He is the head of the fraternal order of the police here in Nashville. Lieutenant Randy Sutton. Tennessee Republican Senate candidate Bill Hagerty will also be speaking. The topics covered will range from legal and medical resources available to officers and the political and social environment officers face and how we can show our support. Lee Beaman, a good friend and he is a co-sponsor. I have a quote here from him.
Swain: Yes, read it.
Leahy: From Lee Beaman, “I am convinced that police officers are among the most honorable people in our society and their ranks are filled with an incredibly high percentage of truly wonderful people. It breaks my heart that they are being so unjustly criticized and attacked even by elected officials in the media. It must be demoralizing. I believe its time for the good people of this country to take a stand to defend our law enforcement and let them know we appreciate them.” That’s Lee Beaman who is a sponsor of the event.
Swain: Lee Beaman is the one who sparked the whole idea of how we were going to honor our law enforcement officers. And I happen to know that Lee Beaman contributed enough money that every police officer in Nashville got a free meal independently of his support of the national tribute. Could you read the sponsors and also if we get more sponsors we will give more gift certificates. Its a national conference and we can have up to 5,000 attendees. It’s virtual.
Leahy: Sponsors include The Woodson Center. The Tennessee Star. We are a sponsor of it. Cooper-Steel and the 917 Society. That’s Joni Bryant’s group. They hand out copies of the Constitution to graduating 8th-graders in Tennessee and they are trying to take that around the country.
Swain: Go to bethepeoplenonprofit.com and register for the conference as well as making a contribution if you want to and if you want to sponsor but it’s not necessary. It is a FREE event. You don’t get many free things today. But show your love for police officers. Register and help make this successful.
Leahy: Go to bethepeoplenonprofit.com. Go there and you’ll see the national tribute to law enforcement and hit the red register now button.
Swain: Yes.
Listen to the full third hour here:
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Tune in weekdays from 5:00 – 8:00 a.m. to the Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy on Talk Radio 98.3 FM WLAC 1510. Listen online at iHeart Radio.
Background Photo “Metro Nashville Police Car” by nashville.gov.
