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Colonel Michael W. Gilchrist
Commander
919-733-7952
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COLONEL'S MESSAGE
Remarks from Colonel Michael W. Gilchrist
Swearing In Ceremony, Old House Chamber, State Capitol
3 December 2010
Governor Perdue, Secretary Young, Justices of the Supreme Court, Judges of the Court of Appeals, members of the General Assembly, other elected officials, fellow law enforcement officers, members of the armed services, friends, family, and members of the North Carolina State Highway Patrol. It is with a great deal of honor that I accept this appointment and acknowledge the faith that you have placed in me to lead this great organization.
I want to publicly thank my family, my wife Jane, and my son William, who is celebrating his 12th birthday today. I can tell you that for a 12 year old the preferred way of spending the afternoon of your birthday, which is also an early release day from school, would be to not attend a ceremony like this, even though he wouldn’t have missed it. Happy Birthday William. I thank you for sharing your birthday with me.
I also thank my daughter Elizabeth, my mother Betty, my sister Debbie, and all family members who are present here today, for the love and support they have provided me throughout my life and my career. I want to acknowledge family members that are not here, particularly my father Carl, a retired member of the Patrol, and my brother Ron and sister in law Joy who have passed from this life, but remain present in spirit.
I stand before you today in this historic place, humbled to have just been sworn in as the 25th Commander of the State Highway Patrol. It is a tremendous honor to have the opportunity to lead such a wonderful organization, made up of so many talented and dedicated employees.
I thank Governor Perdue for this opportunity and for her confidence. I take this appointment as an opportunity to make the Patrol a better organization and to solidify organizational strengths and improve weaknesses. This will make us a stronger, more efficient, service oriented organization during very tough economic times.
I am fully aware of the commitment that this position requires. My commitment is guided by my personal commitment to God, to my family, and, to those 61 members of the Highway Patrol since its beginning in 1929 that have given their life in the line of duty in service to the Patrol and the citizens of North Carolina. Their sacrifice began early. On the second day of the organizations very existence, Patrolman G. I. Thompson was killed in the line of duty as the result of a motorcycle crash while en-route to his assigned duty station.
Since that time, 60 more members have put on the proud uniform of a Trooper, began their tour of duty and never returned home. The sacrifice that they made will forever have an impact on family members and colleagues left behind. We must not and will not forget the sacrifice that all 61 members made.
My commitment to lead will be driven by my respect for the service of all retired members of the Patrol, both sworn, and civilian. Six retired Patrol Commanders, including my uncle, Colonel David Matthews are present here today. I understand it is my responsibility to build upon the foundation that each of you helped to establish throughout your careers.
My commitment is further guided by the more than 2300 hundred men and women who make up the active, sworn and civilian employees of the Highway Patrol. The sworn members being the Troopers, Sergeants, First Sergeants, Lieutenants, Captains, Majors, and the Lieutenant's Colonel.
The civilian members, these being the Telecommunicators, Mechanics, Radio Engineers, Weight Station Operators, and the many administrative support personnel. These people tend to the day to day business that is so critical to the operation of The North Carolina Highway Patrol. Also to the many who support VIPER, which not only supports the Highway Patrol, but law enforcement officers and first responders in other organizations as well. The majority of these employees go to work day in and day out, giving countless numbers of hours above what is required of them, in support of the organization they love.
In today’s tough economic times, when we are all expected to do more with less, it is very easy to look at budgets and see where priorities are. In the case of the Highway Patrol, our biggest expenditure, which is also our largest asset, is our people. We are blessed to have such talented and dedicated employees.
It is through our employees that opportunities to excel exist. My responsibility is to foster an environment where the Patrol can tap into the knowledge, energy, and experience our employees have, and to channel that for the betterment of our organization. Regardless of how challenging, I believe our employees will meet whatever goals and expectations are put before them, so long as they are clear and attainable.
I expect exceptional performance and will not tolerate misconduct. My goal is for all employees to be successful.
As the Patrol moves forward, I will concentrate my energy to lead in 5 distinct ways.
The first is through effective communication. In an organization that has over 2300 employees and spans 100 counties across North Carolina. Effective communication is no accident. Without it we will not reach our potential.
To do this requires a commitment at the top that reaches throughout the organization, not only at every level of supervision, but also laterally between peers.
I am committed to improving communication by establishing clear goals and expectations, and providing needed feedback so together we can reach them.
The second is service orientation. This is the core of our organization, our mission, and what drives many of us in this profession. This is the commitment to provide quality law enforcement services and education based upon high ethical professional and legal standards. I am committed to an organizational environment where the expectation is to provide the best service possible to those we work alongside, and to all citizens of North Carolina. That will be accomplished with loyalty, integrity and professionalism.
Any good organization tracks its progress over time to better understand how it is fulfilling its mission. We do this several ways. One way is the weekly snapshot. The snapshot is a direct reflection on how the organization is performing by comparing the present week against the corresponding week from a year ago. Due to the efforts of our men and women, we have made a significant impact in providing quality law enforcement through constant reductions in reducing traffic collisions and deaths across the state. For example, teenage fatalities are down 40% as well as no seatbelt fatalities are down 7.6% when compared to last year. These reductions are not simply contributed to coincidence but rather it is the true reflection of the work ethic that each and every one of our members do on a daily basis.
The third is to promote what I call organizational based decision making. My goal is to foster an environment where employees recognize that our strengths are measured by our weakest link. That is, all employees must recognize that their decisions must benefit the organization, and not the individual. This occurs when a Trooper is respectful, even though he is being treated disrespectfully.
The forth is accountability. Accountability helps us see how we measure up. Are we achieving our goals, are we performing as expected? If not, plans can be made to improve. We are all accountable to each other, to our supervisors, and to the citizens we serve.
The fifth is responsiveness. This is responding to job tasks, assignments, and such in a timely manner. We all appreciate it when others respond sooner than later. Being responsive is an excellent service trait. It is indicative of professionalism, and means you care.
I am committed, to promoting a work environment that fosters good communication, service orientation, organizational based decision making, accountability, and responsiveness.
I would like to recognize the State Highway Patrol Leadership Advisory Group that was appointed by Governor Perdue, and to publicly extend my appreciation for their service. These six members brought to the table a wealth of experience and insight into law, law enforcement, management and education. They dedicated their time and efforts in reviewing the Patrol in a fair and balanced way. Through its review, the panel recognized the Patrol as a highly professional organization, and made a number of recommendations that will further strengthen and promote the Patrol’s operations and reputation.
In closing, I again thank Governor Perdue, for this opportunity. I acknowledge the faith that you have placed in me and I am committed to lead this great organization forward.
My commitment to do the best job that I can will guide my actions as I carry out my day to day responsibilities as Commander. I will do so with unwavering support for the men and women who make up the Patrol. This will provide them with the organizational environment, training, policies, procedures, and the tools they need to be successful and to move this organization forward.