Imagine starting a new job, and your first assignment is to speak in front of a packed house at Madison Square Garden!
It happened to Nick Krafft of Mountainville. He didn’t speak in the arena where the athletic events are held. It was a smaller venue. But there were still thousands of people in the audience, including New York City’s mayor and police commissioner.
Mr. Krafft, a 2016 Cornwall graduate, got the public speaking assignment by finishing at the top of his class at the Police Academy. Of the 481 recruits who started the program in the fall, there were 425 still around for graduation on July 2.
A week before the ceremony, Officer Krafft learned of his standing among his classmates. He had surpassed them based on his overall score in the following areas:
-Three academic trimesters
-A 1.5-mile run
-An agility test
-The shooting range
As a result, he would get the Mayor’s Award and be asked to speak to the graduates and their families. Part of the address was written for him. There was a list of people to thank. The rest of the speech was original.
His family said they were nervous for him, but the young officer felt he was well prepared. “I took a speech class in college and it definitely helped,” he said. “I also had to do some speaking in Mrs. Rose’s class in high school.”
He had other experiences that helped him at the academy. Summer training for high school football was good preparation for the agility test, which was long and required exceptional endurance.
His success on the range may have surprised him. On all three outings, he hit 98 out of 100 targets. It was a good performance by someone who had only fired a gun on two occasions when he went shooting with his Uncle Dave Krafft, a retired State Trooper.
His uncle’s profession influenced the young policeman’s career choice. “I always wanted to be an officer,” he told us, “I went to school in the city and saw stories about the New York Police Department. It’s definitely one of the top departments in the country.”
Nick, the son of Paul and Lindy Krafft, has been active around home. He’s an EMT and a lieutenant in the Mountainville Engine Company. At buffets at Mountainville Manor, he keeps busy at the carving station.
But he wasn’t around on the Fourth of July. All the new officers were on duty in the city that day. And that includes this year’s winner of the Mayor’s Award.
NOTE: The winner of the Mayor’s Award gets to choose his precinct. Based on advice from veteran officers in town, Officer Krafft selected the 50th precinct in the Riverdale section of the Bronx.
