By: Mike Rhodes—
Muncie, IN—The Indiana Sheriffs’ Association (ISA) held their 87th Annual Conference at the Horizon Convention Center, July 14th through the 16th.
According to Delaware County Sheriff Ray Dudley, “The Indiana Sheriffs’ Association is represented by 92 sheriffs for all 92 counties in the State of Indiana. I was proud to invite them here, particularly because of the way we’ve redone our downtown and the convention center and the hotel. I think everyone in the county, as a whole, has done a great job of trying to bring individuals to our county and show them what Delaware County has to offer.
“When we first started planning for this, we had a few other sheriffs with us, in addition to Steve Luce, Executive Director of the ISA. We went down to Vera Mae’s Bistro to eat and the guys just loved it! They really enjoyed what the Horizon Convention Center and the Courtyard by Mariott had to offer. So, here we are!”
ISA President’s Dinner on Saturday evening. Photo by: Joseph R. Krupa, Delaware County Deputy Sheriff, PIO.
The keynote speaker for the event was Sheriff Paul Laney, Cass County North Dakota. Sheriff Laney was the Operations Chief during the Dakota Pipeline protests.
According to Stephen Luce, Executive Director of the Indiana Sheriffs’ Association, 350 law enforcement professionals attended the conference. Stephen said, “The convention center facility offered us many good things. The ISA staff heard a lot of compliments about everything during the conference. The Horizon Center is actually a facility ISA will consider to do more things with in the future. Everyone was very complimentary about the staff that worked there, and the hotel that was hooked into it. Our overall experience was a positive one and frankly, the Horizon Center was one of the better facilities we’ve been to over the years. Delaware County should be very proud of what you have there.”
103 vendors participated in the ISA Exposition and vendor area, held in the Delaware Hall of the Horizon Convention Center.
Jeff Burke, owner of Muncie’s own McGalliard Guns and More, and his partner Mike Wilson, were first time attendees to the ISA Conference exposition. “I thought the event was great,” Jeff said. “It was a very well run, very organized and clean exposition. It was a great venue to obtain contacts for us, because we are a “Blue Label Glock®” store for this area. “Blue Label” designated businesses are allowed to sell a Glock® product to law enforcement at a discount.” McGalliard Guns and More brought their mobile gun range with them and parked it outside the convention center. Attendees were able to use their firearms inside the gun range for free.
Joann McKinney, President and CEO of the Horizon Convention Center said, “We could not be more pleased to have the Indiana Sheriffs’ Association have their conference here in Muncie. Our staff has been preparing for this conference for months. We are delighted they chose to come here and additionally stay at the new hotel adjacent to our facility. We hope the ISA will consider returning to Muncie in the future.”
About the Indiana Sheriffs’ Association
The ISA was formed for the purpose of promoting the general public welfare through the cooperation of the different sheriffs and deputy sheriffs in the State of Indiana in the performance of their duties. The ISA provides training programs, manuals, technical assistance, a clearinghouse, research facilities and staff, publications and newsletters, and more as well as long range planning activities to improve county sheriffs’ services in the State of Indiana.
About the Horizon Convention Center
Centrally located in a thriving downtown atmosphere, Horizon Convention Center connects personalized service and expertise to fulfill your custom convention, wedding, or event needs. Your guests will love the heart of Muncie.
