A Kevin of All Trades
Kevin Lyons has been everywhere and seems to have done everything for
the NJ State PBA, which is a big reason why he is the best candidate to
represent retired members on the PFRS Board of Trustees.
n BY MITCHELL KRUGEL
There’s Kevin Lyons representing the NJ State PBA at the State
Health Benefits Design Committee meeting.
Wait, there’s Kevin with President Pat Colligan and Executive
Vice-President Marc Kovar meeting with state legislators about
how to improve the pension system.
Hold on, there’s Kevin working with PBA Legal Protection
Plan attorneys to create the policy after HR 218 was passed to
insure retired officers who want to carry firearms.
And there’s Kevin Lyons representing the PBA at a Police
Training Commission meeting.
But isn’t that Kevin administering the Law Enforcement Torch
Run to benefit Special Olympics? Or at the Polar Bear Plunge
with Pat and Marc making another big donation and appearing
with Big Joe Henry on his radio show? Or playing with the Long
Beach Township Local 373 team in the Special Olympics Snow
Bowl?
And isn’t that Kevin meeting with his fellow Retired Local 600
members and talking about their concerns with the Police and
Fire Retirement System (PFRS), including what to do about getting that COLA back?
That’s just part of a day that began in a meeting with President Colligan and Vice-President Kovar, where is serving as one
of their closest advisors because of his wealth of experience
and expertise acquired during his 25-plus years working for the
PBA.
And, of course, that’s right before Kevin is jetting off on behalf
of the PBA to attend another health benefits training seminar
or speaking to members of that National Association of Police
Organization (NAPO) at its annual Pension Benefits seminar.
How could he be in so many different places? There must be
two Kevin Lyons. Or three or four.
Considering all the time he dedicates to the NJ State PBA,
and with all the time he devotes to the NJ State PBA and the
members he loves, where is Kevin Lyons going to find the time
to become the Retired Members Representative to the PFRS
Board of Trustees? Maybe he just needs something to do between 2 and 4 a.m. every day.
“I’ve had an interest in the pension board for years because
it’s the most important benefit we have, and we’re at such a
crossroads with the movement to change the structure of our
pension,” Lyons responds as the impetus for wanting to be a
PFRS Trustee. “The PBA is taking the forefront of that movement, so it’s imperative that somebody with some institutional
knowledge, and somebody who can adapt to change, is sitting
in the Retiree’s Trustee seat.”
Lyons has actually been a leader of change since the early
1990s when he became recording secretary for Long Beach Island Local 175 and being part of the group that helped Long
Beach Township form Local 373 in 2000. From there, his qualifications to assume so many of the positions he has held, or
continues to hold, grew almost exponentially. And he has succeeded in each one with a boundless work ethic and energy.
“It’s a lot of late nights reading information and studying,” he
explains. “When other people were studying for their sergeant’s
exams, I was in the police car reading PERC decisions. It’s something I have a passion for, protecting our members. To do that,
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