About Us

History of the Florida Chapter

On May 18, 1947, all graduates of the F.B.I. National Academy residing in Florida were invited to attend a meeting in Lakeland for the purpose of organizing a Florida Chapter of the F.B.I. National Academy Associates. The meeting was held at the new Florida Hotel with sixteen graduates in attendance. Special Agent in Charge (SAC) J. E. Thornton of the F.B.I. Miami Field Office was present and assisted in the meeting; Inspector Fred Manning of the Miami Police Department was appointed the temporary President.

A charter was formally adopted on July 23, 1947 in Orlando. The Florida Chapter was certified by the F.B.I. National Academy Associates as a duly chartered chapter of the F.B.I. National Academy Associates on January 1, 1951.

The first statewide training conference was held in Daytona Beach at the Sheraton Plaza Hotel during the period of August 23-24, 1950, The President was Chief Ruppert Zeigler of the Gainesville Police Department who graduated from the 38th Session. Prior to this conference the association had only held meetings the previous years since the chapter was organized on May 18, 1947.

On August 2, 1984 the Florida Chapter was incorporated in the State of Florida as a non-profit organization. The official office at that time was located in Gainesville, Florida and run by the Executive Secretary Treasurer, Charlie Snowden. In January 1999, after 21 years as serving in this position, Charlie “retired” and was appointed as the Historian of the Florida Chapter. At that time, the Board of Directors appointed the Immediate Past President, Doug Muldoon, to serve in the position as Executive Secretary Treasurer. The official office was then relocated to Palm Bay.  In January of 2011, Past President, William Hall was appointed as Executive Secretary-Treasurer.  Since then, Craig Capri served as the Executive Secretary Treasurer for two years, and in 2023, the Board separated the Executive Secretary Treasurer role into two separate roles.  Dan Purcell now serves as the Treasurer, and Joe Hellebrand, past Florida and National President, serves as the Secretary.   

The Florida Chapter has increased its membership from the original sixteen graduates who attended the meeting in Lakeland on May 18, 1947 to more than 900 dues paying members in 2012. Overall, there are over 1500 FBI National Academy graduates residing in the State of Florida.

Florida Divisions

The Florida Chapter is divided into three divisions corresponding to the three major FBI field offices in Florida.

• Jacksonville

• Tampa

• Miami

Organizational Structure

The Executive Board of the Florida chapter is comprised of the following voting board member positions:

• President

• First Vice President

• Second Vice President

• Third Vice President

• Immediate Past President

Non-voting Board Members

• Executive Treasurer

• Executive Secretary

• Historian

• Legal Advisor

• Vendor Coordinator