If you have ever had the occasion to call CALEA’s office with a question on your agency’s contract, to order CALEA products or wearables, you more than likely, were connected to Mrs. Elaine Conner. Elaine is one of the veterans at CALEA and will be celebrating her tenth anniversary this year.

Elaine was born and reared in Cairnbrook, a small coal mining town in Western Pennsylvania about 20 miles from Johnstown, the city of the great flood. She has one sibling, a younger brother who is a newspaper reporter in Pennsylvania.

The U.S. Government recruited at Elaine’s high school and after graduation, she accepted a secretarial job working for the CIA in Washington, D.C. During her ten years of employment with the CIA, Elaine met her husband, Phil. They married and moved to Manassas and later Richmond, Virginia, where their two sons, Michael and Robert were born. During their five years in Richmond, Elaine was a stay-at-home mom who enjoyed working on crafts such as sewing and crocheting, as well as gardening and reading.

In the early 70’s, Phil took a job back in DC and they decided to return to the Manassas area to build a home. Never one to resist a challenge, Phil decided to be his own architect, contractor, plumber, electrician, etc. Building their home was a family project of which the Conners are very proud.

Any spare time during those years Elaine spent volunteering at the school and with the various sports leagues to which the boys belonged. She also continued her education by attending Northern Virginia Community College.

In 1982, the Conner family was offered an opportunity to go to Germany with the government for four years. Elaine describes those years as "wonderful and exciting" as they traveled extensively throughout Europe, the British Isles, Norway, and Sweden. Upon returning home to Manassas, Elaine spent some time doing part-time secretarial work for a doctor’s office, a small manufacturing company, and then working full-time for Atlantic Research Corporation.

Elaine says that when she started work at CALEA, she had no idea what accreditation of law enforcement agencies really was. Now, she "can see it as an important tool helping law enforcement in all functions, to provide better service to its constituents." Elaine enjoys interacting with clients, answering contract questions, and being of assistance in any way possible.