Florida Senate - 2024                            (NP)    SR 1828
       
       
        
       By Senator Wright
       
       
       
       
       
       8-03648-24                                            20241828__
    1                          Senate Resolution                        
    2         A resolution recognizing and celebrating the 85th
    3         anniversary of the Florida Highway Patrol.
    4  
    5         WHEREAS, the Florida Highway Patrol was established in 1939
    6  and placed under the direction of Colonel H. Neil Kirkman within
    7  the Department of Public Safety, and
    8         WHEREAS, the Florida Highway Patrol has served the
    9  residents of this state for 85 years under the motto “Service,
   10  Courtesy, and Protection,” and
   11         WHEREAS, the Florida Highway Patrol’s first recruit class
   12  consisted of 32 graduates, and by the end of its first full year
   13  of operation in 1940, its membership had grown to 59 troopers,
   14  and
   15         WHEREAS, in that inaugural year, Florida Highway Patrol
   16  troopers patrolled more than 1.9 million miles of roadway and
   17  investigated 1,000 traffic accidents in this state that, at that
   18  time, had fewer than 2 million residents, and
   19         WHEREAS, as of February 2024, a total of 53 state troopers
   20  have died in the line of duty since the creation of the Florida
   21  Highway Patrol, and
   22         WHEREAS, known as Florida’s Finest, the officers of the
   23  Florida Highway Patrol tirelessly uphold the motto established
   24  by Colonel Kirkman, providing service, courtesy, and protection
   25  while ensuring the safety and welfare of Florida’s residents and
   26  visitors every day on the roadways of this state, NOW,
   27  THEREFORE,
   28  
   29  Be It Resolved by the Senate of the State of Florida:
   30  
   31         That the Florida Highway Patrol, within the Department of
   32  Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, is recognized and
   33  congratulated on its 85th anniversary, and current, retired, and
   34  auxiliary troopers, along with the members of the Florida
   35  Highway Patrol Advisory Council, are extended heartfelt
   36  gratitude for their invaluable service to the State of Florida.
   37         BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this resolution, with
   38  the Seal of the Senate affixed, be presented to Colonel Gary L.
   39  Howze, director of the Florida Highway Patrol, as a tangible
   40  token of the sentiments of the Florida Senate.