Sometimes you walk into a room and you can sense that something is off.
SDPD's Western Division reception lobby had benefitted from face lift. Most of the area is in great shape. Walls and floors looked great, there was new glass everywhere, and you could almost smell the freshness of the paint.
And then there was the old Command Board, mounted on the wall and a prominent feature since circa 1995.
When Mike McElhiney learned about the board from Nydia Castro, he approached Captain Tai to learn if the SDFWA might be of assistance in replacing it. The old board looked tired and stood in stark contrast to its surroundings. Captain Tai approved and Mike got started.
Mike kicked off the project to build a new Command Board with the construction of a small scale prototype.
Most of the early work was done by Mike himself. From getting design ideas by touring the station to building the prototype to gaining approval, it was pretty much a solo effort. Thankfully, our culture of volunteerism in the SDFWA is blossoming and with time others signed on to help.
Among the first was Dynasty Palagranos. He was soon to be joined by Kurt Krummel, Kevin McNeal, Kyle O’Neil, and Dan Heck. There is a lot of effort required to build a large structure such as this. Overall dimensions of the Command Board are 4′ x 8′ but its similarity in size to plywood is just a coincidence. This was made from urban wood prepared and supplied by Tom Hamilton and Jim Holloway of Lumbercycle.
As the project came together you would have noticed two distinctly impressive features: the headboard and the shields. Pulling those off would require a special talent: CNC or computer controlled milling. In 2020 nobody has made a bigger CNC contribution to SDFWA's volunteer efforts than Rob Sandstrom.
Rob used this project as an opportunity to learn new CNC techniques. Carving along the 8′ headboard required precise indexing as the CNC moved along the wood. The shields required going from pictures to a digital design that he could use for carvings. He learned; we and the project benefitted. I'm sure you'll agree, his work was exceptional.
Rob's CNC work.
As the project was finishing up the leadership at the SDPD Western Division had changed and Captain McLean got engaged. Her embrace and approval of the project was critical for Mike to get to final closure. Happily, she was very supportive and believes our collaboration in these troubling times was good for all parties: SDPD, SDFWA, and the community at large.
Finally the day came when the Command Board was complete and needed to be transported and installed. This would be no small challenge for something so large and heavy! With Mike's track record of helping others through his Outreach Program, he had people he could turn to.
Engine Station 20 was more than happy to help transport the project from Mike's shop to the police station. Once there, members of the SDPD Western Division helped to remove the old and mount the new board.
Mission complete!
A major achievement and a significant contribution by our team!!!
To commemorate the event, Dan Heck and Mike turned 28 pens and had them individually engraved with the name of every officer in the station. It's hard to imagine not feeling good about this project. Everyone lent a hand and everyone benefitted. An all around winner. Thank you Mike!!!
