PRESS RELEASE
On Thursday, Oct. 10 at the Idaho Falls City Council Meeting, the Idaho Falls Police Department presented a Community Partner Award to locally grown and based company, Melaleuca. The award was presented by Idaho Falls Police Chief Bryce Johnson and accepted by Melaleuca CEO Frank VanderSloot.
This special award recognizes a major donation that Melaleuca recently made in support of the IFPD. In late 2018, Melaleuca CEO Frank VanderSloot reached out to the Idaho Falls Police Department with an offer. Recognizing that the department was facing an extreme shortage of physical space, Melaleuca offered IFPD the use of 3,500 square feet of downtown office space located in the same building as the Melaleuca Product Store for a two-year time period at no cost to the department or City. Further, Melaleuca offered to cover the cost of all utilities over the next two years in this space as well as some of the renovation costs to meet department needs.
“While this is not a permanent solution, it is one that allows us to address a few immediate quality of life and operational issues at the department,” said Chief Bryce Johnson of the Idaho Falls Police Department. “We are grateful to Frank and Melaleuca for recognizing our need and for graciously offering space to help alleviate some of those needs while more permanent options are pursued.”
This is the inaugural Idaho Falls Police Community Partner Award. The award is intended for community members who, because of a desire to support the Idaho Falls community, in a significant way support the furtherance of public safety, police operations, and/or the overall goals and mission of the Idaho Falls Police Department. These businesses, organizations or individuals distinguish themselves as partners and friends of public safety and the Idaho Falls Police Department through their actions and deeds. The Department hopes to present more of these such awards in the future to recognize many outstanding community partners in our area.
“Our local police should be heroes to all of us,” said Melaleuca CEO Frank VanderSloot. “Their lives are tough enough without having to work without adequate space and resources. We had some extra space. It’s the least that we could do to make it available to them.”
Source: City of Idaho Falls / IFPD