OPP Association Board of Directors October 22, 2026 (Left to Right) – Vice President Mike Adair, newly elected Provincial Director Mike Wreggitt, Provincial Director Terri Hubbert, President David Sabatini, Provincial Director Lynn Neale, Provincial Director Day Pyrah, Provincial Director Trevor McKean.

Steve Hulsman was awarded the 2026 OPP Association Bill Elliott Member of the Year Award at the OPP Association President’s Banquet October 22nd in Collingwood. Pictured is Provincial Director Terri Hubbert, Steve Hulsman and President David Sabatini
Dr Angela Eke was awarded the 2026 Police Association of Ontario Honour Roll Police Hero of the Year Award at the OPP Association President’s Banquet October 22, 2026 in Collingwood. Pictured (Left to Righ) OPP Association Vice President Mike Adair, Dr. Angela Eke, PAO President Mark Baxter, and OPP Association President David Sabatini

The 2026 President’s Banquet provided a memorable conclusion to this year’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) at Blue Mountain on Thursday evening. The event celebrated the dedication, professionalism, and accomplishments of our members and leaders.


In addition to the awards presented, the new OPP Association Vice-President was announced. Congratulations to Mike Adair, the new OPP Association Vice-President. David Sabatini will continue his term as President.

The Board of Directors extend a heartfelt thank you to outgoing Vice President Dave Dube for his tireless service of the Members. The Board welcomes newly elected Provincial Director Mike Wreggitt.

Thank you to our honoured guests who attended the President’s Banquet, including OPP Commissioner Thomas Carrique.


Evening Highlights:


Service Awards – Branch President Rings 

– Presented to Kailee Bradley (Branch 12N) and Rob Mahaffy (Branch 8). Congratulations Kailee and Rob and thank you for your service.

Bill Elliott Member of the Year Award 

– Presented to Sergeant Steve Hulsman

The Bill Elliott Member of the Year Award recognizes a member whose contributions have gone above and beyond in service to their branch, the Association, their community, and the public image of the OPP.

Sergeant Steve Hulsman exemplifies that commitment, both through his everyday service to fellow members and through his extraordinary response during one of the most difficult moments a policing family can face.

Steve has served on the Branch 8 Executive for approximately four years, taking on a number of Branch roles including Branch Rep, Branch director, vice president and, most recently, Branch President.

Throughout that time, Steve has earned a reputation as someone who genuinely cares about the members he represents. He is willing to listen, to help, and, most importantly, to step forward when someone needs support.

His commitment to his fellow members extends beyond his work with the branch through his long-standing involvement with the OPP Golden Helmets.

That dedication was especially evident following the tragic line-of-duty death of his Golden Helmets colleague, Sergeant Brandon Malcolm.

In the immediate aftermath of Brandon’s death, Steve travelled to Cobourg without being asked and spent the following days supporting members on the ground.

He participated in escort duties along the Highway of Heroes with the Golden Helmets and attended Brandon’s funeral and interment, providing a steady and compassionate presence for grieving colleagues.

Recognizing the sudden financial pressures facing Brandon’s fiancée and family, Steve came up with the idea of creating a memorial pin in Brandon’s honour. He designed the pin featuring Brandon’s name and badge number, sourced its production and initially funded the order himself.

What began as Steve’s idea quickly grew into an incredible show of support from across the policing community. With the help of his fellow Golden Helmets and brother and sister agencies, all 2,500 pins were sold, ultimately raising more than $55,000 for Brandon’s fiancée and family.

It was an extraordinary result and speaks to something we see in Steve’s service every day: when there is a need, he doesn’t simply recognize it — he looks for a way to help.

Whether representing members through his branch, supporting colleagues during difficult times, serving with the Golden Helmets, or rallying the policing community around the family of a fallen teammate, Steve demonstrates the compassion, leadership and commitment to others that the Bill Elliott Member of the Year Award was created to recognize.


Police Association of Ontario (PAO) Police Hero Honour Roll Award 

– Presented to Dr. Angela Eke

For more than two decades, and with exceptional impact over the last ten years, Dr. Angela Eke has improved how police services in Ontario assess risk, protect vulnerable people, and manage complex offenders. She has served as the Research Coordinator with the Ontario Provincial Police Criminal Behaviour Analysis Section since 2002. As a researcher, she analyzes criminal behaviour, develops and evaluates risk tools, provides training and case consultations, and builds partnerships that prevent offending, improve offender management, and support victims. Her primary focus areas are intimate partner violence, coercive and controlling behaviours, and child sexual exploitation.

A hallmark achievement is her co development of the Child Pornography Offender Risk Tool (CPORT), an actuarial tool that is validated in several countries and used by law enforcement agencies. CPORT is deliberately kept freely accessible to support consistent investigative practices. Its validation and implementation have improved triage and risk assessment processes across the province, strengthening public safety and supporting investigators in high risk cases involving child sexual exploitation.

Dr. Eke’s leadership in the CELIA Intimate Partner Violence Project has advanced policing practice in recognizing coercive control and will implement culturally responsive risk assessment approaches in collaboration with Indigenous partners and victim support agencies. This work spans partnerships with police services across Canada, universities, the Barrie Native Friendship Centre, and the Chiefs of Ontario— the organization that supports joint decisions and advocacy for 133 First Nations in Ontario.

In 2023, Dr. Eke helped secure a victim support grant with the Barrie Native Friendship Centre, the Chiefs of Ontario, and the Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care to develop a culturally responsive approach to intimate partner violence risk assessment and coercive control. The grant funded a knowledge exchange event, which included a presentation from the Chiefs of Ontario on their Indigenous focused intimate partner violence risk tool. These collaborations have strengthened community trust, improved safety planning, and supported more consistent responses across jurisdictions, resulting in safer outcomes for victims.

Dr. Eke’s sector leadership includes service on the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police Intimate Partner Violence Subcommittee and the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police Psychological Services Subcommittee. Her partnerships extend to probation and parole services, public safety agencies, Crown counsel, universities, and colleges. Clinical and research partners include the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, the Royal Ottawa Health Care Group, and the Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care. Internationally, she has collaborated with partners in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Across her OPP career, project collaborations have secured $600,000 in grant funding to improve offender management, reduce recidivism, and enhance public safety.

Beyond her research and operational contributions, Dr. Eke develops future leaders and advances evidence based policing. Within the last ten years, she has supervised 23 students from 11 academic institutions, Canadian and international, with three going on to professional roles with the OPP. Her scholarly record includes 16 peer reviewed journal publications, three textbook chapters, and more than 100 journal reviews, ensuring that Ontario policing benefits from current behavioural science.

Dr. Eke demonstrates professional integrity, respect, and accountability as a leader with strong ethical standards. She has served on two Research Ethics Boards: the Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care and the National Behavioural Sciences Research Advisory Committee and Ethics Board. As Chair of the Investigation and Support Bureau Research Working Group, she ensures that members complete the Tri Council Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans (TCPS 2: CORE 2022) course and obtain certification.

Dr. Angela Eke’s sustained and province wide impact exemplifies the purpose of the Police Hero Honour Roll Award. Her work integrates rigorous research with real world operational needs, directly influencing police investigations, offender management, and victim protection across Ontario. Collectively, her operational, academic, community focused, and ethical contributions reflect a decade long, Canada wide impact that aligns with the award criteria.

We extend our sincere thanks to everyone who contributed to making the 2026 AGM such a success. We look forward to welcoming our Branch Presidents and Vice-Presidents to the Spring Executive Meeting (SEM) May 3-7, 2027.