by Joyce Hubler (Martinez)
Detective (ret.)
As a PLEA member since 1975 and former PLEA Board member who served from 1981 until 1991, I had a very busy and exciting career. Sometimes retirement can be difficult, as was my case because I retired due to cancer.
On a positive note, over the past few years, I have started various Yahoo groups for retired Phoenix officers and have about 200 members in the Yahoo groups. The downside is that the purpose for which I originally started the groups, which was staying in contact and offering help to one another if needed, never quite met my expectations. Fast-forward to the new age of social media and the event that sparked the formation of a Facebook page for retired Phoenix police officers.
In July, my grandson started his law enforcement career as a recruit at the Mesa Police Academy. He and I met for lunch the Friday before he was to report in and I began telling him some of the fun stories I remembered from my years as an officer…also some of the not-so-fun times. I came home from that lunch thinking of many of the officers I had worked with over the years, missing so many of my friends I had lost track of over the years. I know a few have passed away, but how are the others? Where do they live? How are they doing?
With those thoughts in mind, on Saturday, July 6, 2013, I started a Facebook group called RetiredPhoenixPoliceOfficers. It is a no-stress site, as the page was set up with the intentions of connecting with one another and relating war stories and fun times. It is not for heated arguments, political or religious discussions, and most importantly, as we get older, it is about friendships. I sent the word out to a few of my police friends who I had email addresses for and they sent it out to a few of their friends and it mushroomed. Within 24 hours there were over 300 members and the figures were still climbing. In just under 48 hours, we had over 480 members! I heard so many expressions of gratitude because folks were able to connect with their old partners and friends. As of mid-July, we #3032 were adding about 12 retirees a day. Because of our networking capabilities, we have already identified some officers who are living in assisted-care homes. Since then, other officers have been going to visit them so they know they are not alone in their final years.
I am amazed at the large volume of old photographs that came out on the group, including old motor pictures, old jail pictures, and of course, the war stories. Remembering these made me laugh out loud, making it an all-around positive experience. However, the one single thing that meant the most to me was reading as one old friend connected with a partner they hadn’t seen or talked to in years. I saw this happen over and over in the course of three weeks after this group was first formed, and that is what it’s all about. We are planning a huge reunion to take place the end of February or the first week of March 2014…more on that later!
Qualifying criteria to join the group is you must be either a retired Phoenix police officer or a retired Phoenix dispatcher. I decided to include dispatchers because they were so important to our jobs. Any officer who worked many years for Phoenix, but retired from another law enforcement agency, is also invited to attend as well as current Phoenix police officers with 18 years or more as a Phoenix police officer.
Facebook has three options for groups. We are in what they call the “secret” option, which means we cannot be located by a search engine, not even the Facebook search. Secret was the only option that keeps our pictures and posts private. The other two options allowed the public to view our pictures and posts. For this reason, a person who wants to become a member must be sent an invitation by either Retired Officer Al Contreras, who can be contacted via email at Zorro2705@yahoo.com, or me at joyce15448@aol.com.
About the Author
Joyce Hubler was hired by the Phoenix Police Department in 1975 and graduated from the Phoenix Regional Police Academy with Class 126. At that time, her last name was Martinez and she was one of the first female officers hired by the Department. Her first assignment was Shift 1 patrol out of the old Tower Plaza Station with Gordy Lange and several other officers who were forming the association that eventually became PLEA. Joyce immediately became a PLEA member and also served six terms as a Trustee. In addition to patrol, Joyce also worked as a burglary detective in the old Squaw Peak (now Mountain View) Precinct and later at the North Resource Bureau. She eventually transferred to Sex Crimes and retired out of the Homicide Detail in 1996.