The turnout for the first Symposium for Small Town and Village Police Chiefs in Sun Monday was not as good as Sun Police Chief Greg Bush had hoped, but those who did attend said they were very pleased with the session and would encourage others to attend the second symposium this fall.

Police Chief Blaise W. Smith of the Chitimacha Tribal Police in Charenton, La., said the local event could actually be used as a model for other agencies. He commended the Sun Police Department for gathering officials from similar-sized departments to share ideas, war stories and more.

“We all have the same problems, and there are ways we can help each other,” he said. “That’s an important part of what we’re doing here.” The daylong symposium at the Sun Town Hall included segments on fundraising possibilities, available training, various types of equipment, insurance bundling, hiring practices, youth programs and more.

The chiefs and other representatives also discussed the possibility of seeking federal group grants and forming a Small Town/Village Chief’s Fraternal Order of Police.

Bush said there is strength in unity.

“It’s like pencils,” he said. “It’s easy to snap one, but bundle them, and you can’t do it.”

Besides sharing and generating ideas, the symposium was about forming relationships. That’s especially important to the little guys, Bush said.

“You are your brother’s keeper,” said Bush. “We’re brothers in blue, the thin blue line. And together we can overcome all the odds.”

Bush opened the symposium with a number of inspirational thoughts, such as, “Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success.”

Officer Winston Cavendish, who helped develop the idea of the symposium, said he believes a basis for a widespread and mutually beneficial unity has been formed.

The coming together has now begun, and the keeping together and working together are already mapped out, he said.

Bush, too, was enthusiastic.

“You’ve got to start somewhere,” he said. “It’s time to make it happen.”