The Rhode Island Public Expenditure Council will hold its 69th Annual Meeting on Thursday, October 18, 2012 at the Rhode Island Convention Center.  Cook Political Report editor Jennifer Duffy will deliver the keynote address on the nation’s political landscape and the upcoming elections’ effect on Rhode Island.  Attendees will also hear remarks from Governor Lincoln Chafee, Senate President M Teresa Paiva-Weed and Speaker Gordon Fox.  As a part of the evening’s events, RIPEC will also honor this year’s public service award winners, Anthony Pesare, Chief of Police in Middletown, and Sharon Reynolds Ferland, Fiscal Advisor for the Rhode Island House of Representatives.  

Anthony M. Pesare, the Chief of Police for the Town of Middletown, is this year’s recipient of the 2012 Robert M. Goodrich Distinguished Public Service Award.  Chief Pesare’s career in law enforcement began with the Rhode Island State Police in 1974, where he served for 24 years.  Prior to joining the Middletown Police Department, he was Dean of the School of Justice Studies, and Associate Professor of Criminal Justice at Roger Williams University.  He joined the Middletown Police Department as Chief of Police in 2004. In 2007, he received the Gerhard O.W. Meuller Innovator’s Award in Criminal Justice from the Northeastern Association of Criminal Justice Sciences, and, in 2008, he received the Community Service Award from the Newport County Community Health Center.  Chief Pesare received his B.S. degree in Administration of Justice from Roger Williams University, his Master of Public Administration from the University of Rhode Island, and his Juris Doctor from the New England School of Law.  

The Gary S. Sasse Distinguished Service Award will be presented to Sharon Reynolds Ferland, the House Fiscal Advisor.  Ms. Ferland joined the Fiscal Advisory Staff to the Rhode Island House of Representatives in 1997.  In 2001, she was promoted to Deputy House Fiscal Advisor and became the House Fiscal Advisor in December 2009.  During her tenure at the House Fiscal Office, Sharon has worked on a number of issues, including the school funding formula, restructuring of the state’s personal income tax system, and pension reform.  In 2009, Ms. Ferland was the recipient of an NCSL National Association of Legislative Fiscal Offices Achievement Award. Ms. Ferland received her undergraduate degree in Political Science from the University of Rochester in 1990 and a Masters in Public Administration from the University of Rhode Island in 1995.

The Chair of the Public Service Award Selection Committee, Paula Twidale said, “This year’s nominees are true examples of what it means to work in public service.  We are proud to be able to honor them as a part of this year’s annual meeting.”