In Tampa, my kind of payer

My favorite parts of the Tampa City Council meeting are not prayers, pledges or even public comments.

No, my favorite part is the ceremony honoring police officers this month. What’s worth noting is not the reward. Employers always hand out plaque. What’s noteworthy about plaque is the accompanying booty, and what it says about Tampa’s history and culture.

Praise is the first order of business, and it unfolds like this. The police chief is standing on the podium of the council’s chamber of commerce. After introducing the officers with several kinds of remarks, the chief is on the side, with conga ambassadors of some of Tampa’s most iconic institutions snakes the gifts of the aisle into the snake.

There are show tickets from the Orchestra and Stras in Florida, gift memberships to Tampa Theatre and Zu Tampa, and gift cards from some of the best restaurants in the city, from Hotel Haya and Columbia in Ibo city to Yummy’s home.

Step towing and Bill Curry Ford also bring gift cards. There will be dinner on the Starship Cruise, and you will be crossed over to pirate water taxis and bowling parties on the riverwalk, and certificates for bike rentals. The Bucks appear in the game ball.

“They get a lot of gifts,” said Brian Dugan, who presided over sharing the ceremony as Tampa Police Chief. “You stand aside and it’s all about the officers.”

Before you start thinking about Payola, here’s history. The award began about 35 years ago, when a group of Tampa businessmen were looking for ways to recognize police and firefighters who were killed in their duties. The idea was a throwback to the Mutual Aid Association formed by Cuban, Italian and Spanish immigrants throughout Tampa in the 1900s. Society acted as a source of pride and protection for its brothers. When one member died, the other members tipped in to cover the funeral.

“This is a natural extension of these mutual aid associations,” says Steve Michelini, a business consultant in Tampa who helped organize the first awards in the 1990s.

The city is currently awarding separate awards to rank and file employees appointed and reviewed by police officers, firefighters and supervisors. The award is a morale booster that serves several purposes.

One is to highlight the heroic and meaningful work that city employees do as a daily issue. Recent recipients include Crack Police detectives, a fire chief who rescued a woman and two dogs from a burning house, and Parks workers who taught children how to manage violence and bullying.

“I want to show you a lot — the importance of hiring means I want to sell community police,” Dugan said. “That’s what this award does.”

The award also means providing some material comforts that employees may not be able to afford themselves. In that sense, they have returned to a mutual aid society by providing it through the generosity of many.

“These employees have young and young families,” Michelini said. “This is designed to give them a little boost,” Tampa Fire Union Chairman Nick Stocko said morale will boost “Trickles Down” from individual firefighters to the entire crew. “It gives the public an understanding of the lives of police officers, or firefighters or regular city employees. People who do what we do for granted,” said longtime councillor Charlie Miranda.

That’s a simple concept. Take care of us, we will take care of you. And it appears to be even poorer by that day.