Police Chief at Chamber 9/1

New Police Chief Robert Guthrie will be the guest speaker at 8 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 1 at the The Arcadia Chamber of Commerce’s monthly Government Affairs Forum in the Chamber conference room, 388 W. Huntington Drive.

Also speaking at the Forum, in addition to the regular monthly reports from City, County, and State government officials and the Metro Gold Line Foothill Extension, will be Archie Davenport, who will provide information about The Better Coalition, representing businesses and cities that oppose the banning of Styrofoam at the county, state, and federal level.

Police Chief Robert Guthrie

Chief Guthrie, who was appointed Police Chief in July and sworn in earlier this month, was born and raised in the San Gabriel Valley and began work for the Arcadia Police Department as a Police Cadet in 1989 before attending Rio Hondo Police Academy in 1991-92 and become an Arcadia Police Officer in January 1992. He rose through the rank and was promoted to Police Lieutenant in 2004 and during the next six years was Patrol Watch Commander, Detective Bureau Commander, SWAT Team Commander, Force Training Unit Commander, Field Training Officer Program Commander, and Administrative Lieutenant before being promoted to Captain in January 2011 as Operations Division Commander. Among his many notable achievements and recognitions relating to the community of Arcadia, Chief Guthrie received the Department’s Community Services Award in 2009 and the Officer of the Year Award from both the Arcadia Rotary Club and the Arcadia Police Officers’ Association in 1998. He was  President of the APOA in 1997-98 and 2001-02, and was Tactical Commander in charge of Planning and Operations for the Breeders’ Cup events in 2008 and 2009. He is married and has a six-year-old son.

Chief Guthrie is the latest high-profile and important speaker to make a presentation at the monthly Government Affairs Forums led by co-chairmen Pete Ulrich, former Arcadia City Councilman, and Mary Dougherty, former President of the Arcadia School District Board of Education.

Assemblyman Tim Donnelly will make his first appearance at the Forum at 8 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 1.

The Forum, held the first Thursday of each month, is free and open to the public. RSVPs are appreciated to the Chamber office: 626-447-2159 or info@ArcadiaCaChamber.org.

— By Scott Hettrick