spread the word. This methodology has allowed Below 100 to present hundreds of classes
to thousands of officers in just a few years.
And while Below 100 is a national organization with many partners that support it, it has
taken special root in Georgia with the help of Local Government Risk Management
Services (LGRMS), a service organization of the Association County Commissioners of
Georgia (ACCG) and the Georgia Municipal Association (GMA).
LGRMS and the Growth of Below 100 in Georgia
Natalie Sellers first became involved with Below 100 toward the end of her 15-year-career
as a parole officer. Now working in the field of loss control with LGRMS, Sellers said, “I was
working in law enforcement and a friend of mine suggested I tag along for a Below 100
training class. After the class, I was hooked.” Sellers participated in a Train-the-Trainer
session and became an instructor of the program that day. “I could not wait to teach my
first class,” she said.
With LGRMS’s mission of serving cities and counties, it made sense to introduce Below
100 to its Executive Director, Dan Beck. “In 2013, when I began with LGRMS, I suggested
that Dan hear the Below 100 pitch,” Sellers said. “He and I met with City of Alpharetta
Police Captain Dennis Valone, who was also Chairman of Below 100, and that began our
journey. Dan supported the program wholeheartedly, and Dennis Valone and I started
brainstorming ways we could work together to promote the program in Georgia.”
To build awareness and introduce the program, LGRMS held its first ever Below 100 Day in
Georgia that included four different Train-the-Trainer classes spread across four different
regions of the state. After training 110 new Below 100 instructors, those instructors then
went back to deliver the course to their departments and surrounding agencies. LGRMS
also trained its three public safety risk consultants to be trainers of the program and they
started teaching the class to departments all over the state (even incorporating the Five
Tenets of Below 100 into their simulator training).
As the program gathered momentum, some trainers were blown away by the reception
from other police officers. Mike Earl, who served a total of 29 years as a law enforcement
officer before joining LGRMS in 2011, has received standing ovations after many of his
presentations. “I have had many individuals approach me and thank me sincerely for
providing reminders as to how and why to remain safe out there,” Earl said. Many tell him
about what they plan to do differently in their personal operations such as wearing their
seatbelt or body armor, or slowing down their vehicle operations. “Many have tears in
their eyes upon leaving the Below 100 presentation,” Earl said. “Seasoned professionals
have approached me and let me know that this class was by far the very best training they
have ever received.”
In April 2018, LGRMS held the Below 100 Best Practice Symposium in Cartersville,
Georgia—only the second such symposium in the nation. Over the two days, LGRMS and
Below 100 trained about 80 law enforcement leaders and command staff from Georgia,
www.gachiefs.com • Page 13 • 1st Quarter Newsletter