2015 -- H 6325

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LC001856

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2015

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H O U S E   R E S O L U T I O N

CONGRATULATING RHODE ISLAND STATE POLICE MAJOR DAVID TIKOIAN ON HIS

RETIREMENT AFTER MORE THAN TWENTY-THREE YEARS OF EXEMPLARY AND

DISTINGUISHED SERVICE TO THE CITIZENS OF RHODE ISLAND

     Introduced By: Representatives Winfield, Costantino, Malik, Fogarty, and Gallison

     Date Introduced: June 18, 2015

     Referred To: House read and passed

     WHEREAS, Major David Tikoian was born in Providence, Rhode Island, the son of Ann

and the late Peter Tikoian, who was a survivor of the Armenian Genocide. He was raised in

Smithfield, Rhode Island, where he learned early on the importance of working hard and never

forgetting from where you came. David's work experience began as a thirteen year old, when he

worked at Adler's Farm in Greenville, picking up hay bales. The owner of the farm, Carl Adler,

taught him to "either do it the right way or nothing at all." David later worked for Alfred

Costantino's construction company where he wheelbarrowed asphalt and was positively

influenced by Mr. Costantino's work ethic; and

     WHEREAS, Major Tikoian graduated from the Smithfield public schools, including

Smithfield High School, where he was a member of the wrestling team, threw the shot put and the

hammer for the track team, and was Captain of the football team. He went on in 1988 to earn an

Associate's degree, with highest honors, with money earned from his various summer jobs. In

1990, he earned a Bachelor's degree in business administration from Bryant University and began

the process of applying to be a Rhode Island State Trooper while working in the construction

industry; and

     WHEREAS, Major Tikoian's distinguished law enforcement career began in 1992 when

he was accepted to be a member of the Rhode Island State Police. Immediately, his tireless work

ethic and attention to detail attracted the notice of his superiors, and he began a steady climb up

the ranks. In 1998, he joined the Rhode Island State Police Executive Security Unit during the

second term of then-Governor Lincoln Almond. He continued to perform those duties through

most of Governor Carcieri's tenure, finishing in 2009. He also served as the Treasurer and Vice

President of the National Governors Security Association; and

     WHEREAS, Major Tikoian's other duty assignments with the Rhode Island State Police

have included serving at all the division barracks statewide, at the Training Academy and as

weekend officer-in-charge of the Uniform Bureau. He was the Rhode Island State Police's

Divisional Inspectional Services officer, where he evaluated operations and inspected facilities;

evaluating personnel, vehicles and investigative procedures. He was tasked with the assignment

of ensuring that the agency-wide operations and standards of the Rhode Island State Police were

in compliance with the Commission on Accreditation Law Enforcement requirements, which

resulted in achieving Flagship Agency Status in 2011. Major Tikoian also served as the Rhode

Island State Police's Legislative Liaison and Community Outreach Coordinator where he worked

on various projects including the Citizen Trooper Academy and with the "Kids, Cops &

Classrooms/Kids, Cops & Christmas" programs; and

     WHEREAS, Major Tikoian's latest assignment has been as the Chief Administrative

Officer where he manages ten sworn law enforcement officers and 60 civilian personnel. His

responsibilities include oversight duties and fiscal management of the division's $97 million

dollar budget; and

     WHEREAS, Major Tikoian has also served as the President of the Rhode Island State

Police Museum, a museum filled with Rhode Island State Police artifacts and whose chief

purpose is to pay tribute to all the Rhode Island State Troopers who have served our state with

honor, valor and integrity; and

     WHEREAS, One of the special highlights of Major Tikoian's distinguished law

enforcement career was when he graduated from the extremely difficult FBI National Academy

in Quantico, Virginia. This eleven week program, comprised of 215 personally selected

individuals from various military and law enforcement entities from 49 states and 26 countries,

included advanced investigative and management techniques, as well as a rigorous physical

fitness regimen that included climbing walls, wading creeks, and rope-scaling rock faces, while

also confronting cargo nets, barbed wire and lots of mud along a 6.1 mile hilly and wooden path.

Major Tikoian was the only Rhode Islander in this class; now, therefore be it

     RESOLVED, That this House of Representatives of the State of Rhode Island and

Providence Plantations hereby congratulates Major David Tikoian on his retirement from the

Rhode Island State Police after more than twenty-three years of exemplary and devoted service to

the citizens of Rhode Island. We wish him a most happy retirement and continued success in all

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future endeavors; and be it further

     RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and hereby is authorized and directed to

transmit a duly certified copy of this resolution to Major David Tikoian.

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