Dear Friend,
 
As we prepare to conclude 2022 and enter 2023, I wish you and your family a prosperous and Happy New Year!
 
Over the past year, the MovementForward, Inc. (MFI) team supported communities of every kind in becoming more safe, more just, and more inclusive. Every day presented new opportunities to learn from and collaborate with our partners, government officials, residents, and public safety professionals to uplift communities. As in prior years, National Faith & Blue Weekend (Faith & Blue) was a cornerstone of this work, growing by 50% in 2022 to approximately 3,000 engagements across all fifty states. In January 2023, we will release the impact report for the 2022 Faith & Blue along with the winners of our annual photo contest.
 
In the coming weeks, MFI and several of our partners will formally announce an inaugural “Professionalizing Law Enforcement Community Engagement Training” (PLECET) Conference we are planning for May 3-6, 2023, in Atlanta, Georgia. The purpose is “To professionalize the emerging community engagement sector of policing by establishing an annual specialized training, networking, and professional development conference for sworn and non-sworn personnel assigned to community engagement roles in law enforcement agencies across the nation.”
 
Being engaged in the work of humanity is an honor and a joy. In reflecting on how quickly 2022 seems to have passed, I am reminded that we all have limited time to use the gifts we possess to build what the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. called “The Beloved Community.” As our nation continues to face unprecedented challenges, so too does it face unprecedented opportunity. Thank you for being a part of this movement, and I wish you a new year filled with peace, hope, love, joy, and abundant blessings.
 
Kind Regards,
 
Reverend Markel Hutchins
Chairman & CEO, MovementForward, Inc.
Lead Organizer, National Faith & Blue Weekend (Faith & Blue) +
One Congregation One Precinct (OneCOP) + Professionalizing Law Enforcement-Community Engagement Training (PLECET) Conference, initiatives of MovementForward, Inc.

Editorial Disclaimer: All blog posts are contributed by a member of the MovementForward, Inc. team in their personal capacity. The opinions expressed in the posts are the author’s own and do not reflect the views of MovementForward, Inc. or any other partnership associated with the organization.