Aftermath Florida: Visiting the SEHIA Conference

A little bit of bad weather doesn’t stop Aftermath Florida! Last week, Aftermath attended the Southeast Homicide Investigators Association (SEHIA) conference and training session in Jacksonville, FL. Read on to learn more!

Held October 10th through 14th, the SEHIA conference was hosted by board members Jen Spears, a homicide detective with the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office in Florida, and Teresa Sprague, detective with the Orlando Police Department and member of the Joint Homicide Investigation Team. Both are former organizers of the Florida Homicide Investigators Association who decided to form SEHIA in response to needs they experienced within their own agencies. This conference marked the Association’s first large-scale event, and Aftermath’s Tina Bao and Genna Hines were on hand to share information on professional biohazard cleaning.

Meet and Greet

According the the SEHIA website, the goal of the conference was “to enhance the dialogue between members of law enforcement tasked with investigating the most heinous and impactful life events faced by members of society.” Despite the hurricane, the event was attended by numerous homicide detectives, crime scene investigators, state and district attorneys, medicolegal investigators, and other law enforcement professionals. Genna described it as well-organized, with a positive atmosphere.  “I would say about half of the attendees had heard of our company,” Genna said. “The other half were interested in what we had to say and were very receptive when we talked to them.”

Genna reported that there were many good discussions with local law enforcement agents throughout the course of the week. Questions about Aftermath Florida and our service areas were common. Renee Fortinberry, a detective at the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, was one of the many who took time to learn more about the company. Genna and Tina will be sending her more information and materials to share with her department. (If you’re a member of law enforcement, you can order marketing materials such as pens, notebooks, and brochures, on our website).

Giveaways Mean Good Fun

Other than meeting all the great people in law enforcement, one of our favorite things to do at a conference is to give away free stuff. At SEHIA, our booth had the important distinction of having more giveaways than any other vendor. Attendees really enjoyed our water bottles, hand sanitizers, policemen stress toys, and (of course!) our big bucket of candy. We also raffled off a 5.11 tactical bag and PPE kit. The winner was Detective Gregory Howard from the Jacksonville Police Department (in the great photo above!).

Leaving an Impression

Attending conferences like SEHIA is one of the many ways Aftermath shows its support for men and women in law enforcement. We also offer training on topics like PPE and bloodborne pathogen safety, as well as specialized services such as jail cell and squad car cleaning. To learn more about these programs, visit our dedicated webpage for law enforcement.

If you have questions about our services, or need immediate cleanup assistance, call us 24/7 at 877-872-4339.