Posted on August 5 at 8:02 a.m.

WOW! How can something so pure could turn into a bashing session? I have coached for the YMCA and I have coached in the Cal Ripkin League. I have two of the most wonderful boys that I love and adore and I would like to think that others who know them feel the same way. Being a single dad, I truely believe that "it takes a village to raise a child" and without the support of this community, I question if I would have such balanced and well behaved kids...

I dont have all of the answers nor do I claim to have many big ideas, all I know is that there are a select few people that are trying to make a difference with the youth of this city by taking time and money out of their own pockets for the benefit of ALL kids on the island! These people arent among the mass millionairs of the island- they're working class people who struggle and hustle to pay the bills. I personally thought the YMCA programs were "OK" but the expense was killing me and it seemed to lack some personal attention. Having said that, the evolution of talent in the children I was fortunate to coach in the past Cal Ripkin season was something that is enough to take my breath away! I watched children grow athletically and parents participate in something that was just a dream months prior! The Optimist concept is probably the most affordable solution for structuring our kid's childhood but I think that there is room for everyone to choose!

The bottom line is that there has to be an accomodating facility to support this concept, which is why the designation of "Track K" is so important!

Every parent who has a child participate in organized sports has seen a moment where their child has made them so proud that it brought tears to their eyes! Dont lose that feeling when discussing this topic...It really is "All About The Kids!"

Kevin Hennings

On New Optimist Club forms on Marco

Posted on July 2 at 8:31 a.m.

...FROM POST #60....I am friends with Thom Carr. I know that this might not have sex appeal to the gossipers but its true! I have worked directly for Thom for the past 8 years and outside of work, in many ways, Thom has been like a father to me. A few years back, I went through a nasty divorce and because of our family's close relationship, Thom and his wife stepped up and helped sort all that drama out. I never "Beat My Wife" or any other woman for that matter. I speak to my wife on a regular basis who lives out of state and we are friendly to each other. There was a temporary injunction during that time as a course of normal action due to a custody battle but my ex-wife and I worked that out civilly without having to go to court because we are adults. My children reside with me at this time and their mother speaks to them on a regular basis. She also is a good person and is available to them. As a condition of our settlement, we chose to sell our home in Naples and that is currently listed for sale. Due to the failing market, it has been difficult to get a reasonable price for the house so we did consider allowing it to go into forclosure. Take a look around, enough said! I worked with the DEA for several years and although I was constantly around illegal drugs, I never ingested any of them. It was part of my job to portray an image of being involved with drugs, not part of my lifestyle. I am not currently nor was I ever a drug addict although I did experiment with marijuana when I was a teenager. Currently, I am single and NOT DATING ANYONE. I would love to find the companionship of a woman and obviously everyone else on this blog would like to see that as well. Unfortunately, my time is consumed with being a good father to my children and working on this island to provide safety and security to its citizens.
Within this article, there are paraphrases of what I said that would imply that I am against an applicant who is older than I am. Thats just untrue! What I said was that I feel that there was a benefit of having a younger person that would be here longer. I never pointed out the age of any other applicant, that was information that was added behind my paraphrased comment.
I am, by no means, perfect nor do I pretend to be! Whether I get the job or not, I feel that I have plenty to offer this city. There are a million people that are capable and hundreds that have applied that would most likely do a good job. I cant understand why this entire blog is about Thom and I when there has to be 218 other applicants that might raise an interest in people's mind.
Im not sure if I was able to help you guys out. I have no secrets, anything that you want to know about my life is at the stroke of a key, just google me!

On Marco begins sorting 220 applications for Marco Island police chief

Posted on July 2 at 8:30 a.m.

Well I have to say that I am somewhat flattered by all of the response to this article! From what I can see, about ten people actually participate in this blog and as far as I can tell, half of you love me and half hate me. I do see where there has been alot of removed comments and I can only assume that they were not intelligently written or they would still be there. Im not sure what they said because I really havent been following this tread on account of the drama involved. If I had to guess, I would think that there may be a few screen names that belong to officers or their wives that were offended by the paraphrases of mine that were in the paper about age. I attempted to clarify my comments early in this blog but I guess people just read what is "media savy" or whatever they can grasp on to for the drama effect.
Im impressed that people have done so much research on my life and have time to throw it into this tread but I wish that people took the time to confirm the accuracy of it before throwing it out there. So let me help you guys out! Here goes, hope you're not disappointed:
CONTINUED...

On Marco begins sorting 220 applications for Marco Island police chief

Posted on June 24 at 7:09 p.m.

In an effort to clarify, I would like to wish my fellow applicants the best of luck in this process! It would sadden me to think that there was any misunderstanding with what was quoted in this article. The basis of any comment that was made was only to emphasize that I plan on serving Marco Island for the next twenty years and that my being the Chief of Police would provide consistency through that time period. I have enjoyed the past 8 years at this agency as well as being in Federal and State law enforcement prior to that. I feel that I am still on an upword climb in my career and pray that I am as fortunate in the next twenty years as I have been in the first half of my career! Thank you!

On Marco begins sorting 220 applications for Marco Island police chief