Prior to the creation of the national training academy, the NLLEA established regions responsible for providing accessible training and potential recruitment for the Association. Several regional training sessions were held between 1990 and 1995, but by 1992 various members were already discussing ideas for a single, national academy. At that time Bill Patterson and Charles Sumner established an exploratory committee to research options for establishing a national training academy with the express intent of providing specialized training developed for liquor enforcement and regulatory officers from all ABC agencies.

Initially, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms expressed an avid interest in sponsoring the NLLEA Academy at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC) in Glyncoe, Georgia. Unfortunately, in 1995 ATF training specialists concluded they could not provide the training requested at a reasonable price or in the compressed time period of approximately one week.

In 1994, the Board of Directors initiated the development of the training academy by appointing a training coordinator. Tommy Marvell, from Oklahoma, was selected as the first Training Coordinator. The Board assigned two goals at that time. The first goal was to ensure that the regional training sessions were given all the technical, financial, and personnel assistance needed to ensure successful training events. The second goal was to continue researching the possibility of partnering with ATF and building a viable national training program that was accessible and affordable to member agencies.

The pivotal year for the Academy was 1996. Nearly two years had passed since a Training Coordinator had been named, and progress toward conducting the pilot class was at a standstill. An abbreviated planning meeting was held during the 1995 NLLEA conference in Toronto, Ontario. The ad hoc training planning committee realized that the pilot academy’s funding source would consist of registration fees. Working from an unknown budget and completely dependent upon the good word of agencies to support the instructor cadre, the NLLEA membership moved ahead with guarded optimism for the first national training academy.

To say that the inaugural academy planning was a challenge is an understatement. Relying on past conversations among NLLEA members regarding various training programs in each state, the planning committee was confident that a great untapped reservoir of experienced instructors existed. Most of this experience and expertise was located in the training sections of ABC agencies throughout North America. Another source of potential instructors included subject matter experts, meaning those individuals who had taken it upon themselves during their careers to research and study single areas of interest or alleged criminal activity (e.g., video gambling, hidden ownership, financial investigations) in the liquor industry. Fortunately for NLLEA, several ABC Directors and Chief Agents volunteered names of enforcement personnel with experience and expertise in specific subject matters to potentially serve as instructors for the academy.

The Kentucky ABC volunteered to be the host agency for the inaugural national training academy. Jack Blair selected the Kentucky Criminal Justice Center facility, located on the campus of Eastern Kentucky State University in Richmond, Kentucky, as the site for the first training. It was an excellent choice. The location helped set the tone for the type of academy NLLEA wanted to establish. The Criminal Justice Center is the training center for all municipal, county and state law enforcement agencies in Kentucky. The Center already enjoyed a well-documented credibility with law enforcement agencies in surrounding states and provided well-equipped classroom facilities. The planning committee eagerly accepted the Center’s generous offer.

Fifty-five liquor enforcement and regulatory officers from sixteen member agencies attended the first national training academy. All ten volunteer instructors were from liquor enforcement agencies. For the first time in NLLEA history a week long training course consisting of liquor related issues was developed and implemented for and by liquor enforcement personnel. The students and instructors realized that liquor enforcement issues, concerns and problems were not limited to their state or jurisdiction. The issues, concerns and problems faced in one state were essentially the same in other states. Apart from the training courses provided in the academy, the networking that took place during breaks and after training hours added another successful dimension to the academy.

Students of the first academy included several Chief Agents and training officers from ABC agencies. These individuals provided positive comments and reports to their Agency Directors that helped establish credibility and integrity for the academy. This support convinced several skeptical NLLEA members of the effectiveness and viability of this unique training academy. The instructors were fully aware that the future of a national training academy depended on the actions of the NLLEA membership at the 1996 national conference in Nashville, Tennessee. During the business meeting in Tennessee, several Agency Directors and Chief Agents stood and praised the academy and the instructors for their hard work, professional endeavors, the thoroughly researched subject areas and excellent presentations given during the training academy. The membership as a whole voted to continue the academy. Except for financial concerns, the future of the academy was assured.

Building on the success of the first academy and incorporating the feedback from the students, the second academy was held in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma in 1997. This academy expanded and incorporated advanced courses in financial investigations, hidden ownership investigations, and video gambling devices. The basic academy course was again offered to all participating agencies. With nine volunteer instructors and a budget limited to registration fees, the second academy trained thirty-one students in the basic course and twenty-seven students in the advanced course representing seventeen state, county, and municipal ABC agencies.

The third annual academy was held in Austin, Texas in 1998. Due to increased requests from ABC agencies regarding problems associated with video gambling devices placed in licensed premises, a third phase was added to the academy. A curriculum focusing on leadership development also became part of the Phase III Training. The academy was comprised of twenty-nine Phase I students, eighteen Phase II students, and ten Phase III students.

After the 1999 training academy, Tommy Marvell stepped down from his role as Academy Coordinator and Chuck Conkling from North Carolina took over and currently serves the NLLEA in this position. The 2000 and 2001 academies were held in Wilmington, North Carolina. Charles Sumner from Mississippi has been the link between the two coordinators. Charles has served as the assistant coordinator with dedication and distinction in all six academies. Charles’ advice, institutional memory, and constant presence throughout the academies helped bolster the morale of the instructors, as well as provided direction to the coordinators.

The core curricula for subsequent academies remained essentially the same. The academy continues to offer three phases each year, and the training is offered for a reasonable registration fee. The planning committee believed from the initial planning stage that an affordable registration fee encourages greater participation by more agencies and offsets the other expenses incurred by ABC agencies including travel, lodging, and per diem. Recently, as a result of budget problems in a number of ABC agencies, the academy requested funding from NLLEA to assist with expenses for instructors. The recent partnerships developed with PIRE and NHTSA will allow NLLEA to continue a controlled growth and expansion of the academy by redeveloping course curricula and possibly incorporating a Phase IV dedicated to training county and municipal police officers assigned to underage drinking enforcement in their local jurisdictions.

Here are some annual statistics on the NLLEA National Training Academy: