Dear Nassau COBA Members,

Recently, Nassau COBA had the pleasure of joining Correction Officers from across the United States, along with their respective Unions, at the 2024 Corrections USA Annual Conference and Valor Awards Dinner held at Harrah's Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Some of the states that were represented at the conference included New York, New Jersey, Florida, Georgia, Nevada, and Tennessee to name a few.

Corrections USA is a not-for-profit corporation formed by correctional officers in 1998 to provide national representation to Corrections Professionals employed by Federal, State, and local governments.

They represent over 80,000 publicly employed Correctional Officers from across this nation and their mission is to advance the correctional officer profession and serve as a national voice on issues of universal concern.

For over 25 years, CUSA has honored Correction Officers from across the United States, who have displayed exemplary courage and bravery on and off duty. CUSA pays for the hotel and travel of each honoree and their respective Union official, so they can accept their award in person.

I had the privilege of nominating nine members of our department, who received the Corrections USA Valor Award for their outstanding efforts in saving the lives of two unresponsive inmates at our facility in January.

Pictured above is Lieutenant Christopher Lavin, Corporal Michael Keller, Correction Officer Michael Demainto, Correction Officer Kevin Carr, Correction Officer John Lagomasino, Correction Officer Mark Bernikow, Correction Officer Jeffery Tolmie, Correction Officer Anthony Lebron, and Correction Officer Edwin Carpio who were each presented with the Corrections USA Medal of Valor by CUSA Chairman James Bairadi.

This was the biggest contingent of CUSA Valor Award recipients ever selected from the Nassau County Sheriff's Department.

Moving forward, your Executive Board and I will continue to ensure that our members receive the recognition you deserve for the outstanding work they do on and off duty to our county.

Sincerely,

Pete Lilli

President