Grant Honors Legacy through Leadership

By Matt Poms Saturday, May 29, 2010

The Williamsburg Police Department has received a $10,000 grant towards officer leadership training from a longtime Williamsburg family. Rose Paparis donated the money in honor of her late husband Tom, a former police officer in Greece and owner of the Ivy House and Yorkshire Steak and Seafood Restaurant in Williamsburg. Tom Paparis first came to Williamsburg in 1952.

“This is a great honor for the entire Williamsburg Police Department,” Chief Mike Yost said in a press release. “Over the years, Tom made countless generous donations to the police and fire departments — a defibrillator, ballistic shields, M-16s — ‘whatever you need,’ he used to say. I think it is fitting that this investment in the people of the police department will be one of his lasting legacies.”

The grant will be used to send officers to the Professional Executive Leadership School at the University of Richmond. The three-week liberal arts program is run by the Virginia Police Chiefs Program, and aims to teach leadership and management skills to participants. Acceptance into the program is highly competitive, and involves individuals from the government, business and private sectors.

“Leadership training of this caliber is invaluable for the individuals that attend the school and for the entire force,” Yost said. “Without this grant we could not afford to participate.”

Lieutenants Kenny Lawson and Tim Davis are the first two Williamsburg officers to attend the program through the grant.