Just
another day on the job takes on a whole new meaning when the
Volusia County Sheriff’s Office Employees of the 2nd Quarter
2009 winners are hard at work. Their professionalism and
expertise are prime examples of what makes the Sheriff’s
Office a premier law enforcement organization in Florida.
The five deputies and civilians honored by Sheriff Ben
Johnson during a ceremony at the Deputy Stephen Saboda
Training Center in Daytona Beach Wednesday morning. Awards
were presented to a reserve deputy, an investigations unit
supervisor, an office assistant, a telecommunicator, and a
Citizen Observer Program volunteer.
Reserve Deputy Sheriff David Hinshaw’s primary duty is that
of prisoner transport, but over time his previous full-time
law enforcement career experience led him to greater
responsibilities and the respect of his peers and
supervisors. Hinshaw had retired from the Sheriff’s Office
in 2003 at the rank of captain following a 28-year career,
and recently returned to be a reserve deputy. The deputy of
the quarter does all the personnel scheduling for his unit,
which can sometimes be a monumental task. Reserve deputies
typically have other full-time jobs and family obligations
that make the task of scheduling their Sheriff’s Office
duties challenging. However, Hinshaw is always up to the
task and is able to develop solutions to make sure all
shifts are covered. He handles all aspects of his job in the
same manner by consistently having suggestions ready that
invariably help solve any problems that crop up.
“Dave is selfless in his approach to his job. He also is a
voice of reason in difficult times and had a great deal of
experience to lend that this agency should count its
blessings to have,” said Hinshaw’s supervisor, Sgt. Joseph
Bryant.
Investigator Sergeant Jimmie Carlisle is well known in his
Deltona district office as a determined man who never
hesitates to help out at any hour of the day on any task
that arises. The investigator of the quarter volunteered to
work in Deltona and was assigned to the property crimes
section of the investigations unit. Carlisle created a new
dynamic within that assignment, motivating his investigators
and aggressively tracking down criminal activity. In
addition to supervising, he carries his own case load and is
known to doggedly stay on cases for months that seem highly
unlikely to be solved, oftentimes surprising his fellow
investigators with recovered property and arrested suspects.
Carlisle takes a keen interest in all the activities in the
district, which usually leads to valuable criminal activity
information and the eventual solving of crimes.
“You’ve earned it,” said Sheriff Johnson. “Thank you for a
job well done.”
Office assistant Carol Pendleton finds success in the
details of her work in the DeBary district office. Every day
she can be found updating property crimes maps, along with
property and suspect databases. She then crosschecks that
information in pawn shop databases and through this process
finds stolen property that investigators then recover. Her
attention to detail and determination have revealed stolen
items in pawn shop databases that even automated systems
miss. Additionally, Pendleton’s previous experience in the
Technical Services unit, where she did fingerprinting, is a
wealth of knowledge to district deputies. She reviews and
evaluates some of the latent prints that deputies recover in
the field, and when necessary, offers them suggestions for
improvement. She also processes requests for fingerprints
from the public, saving them the long drive to Daytona Beach
they would have to otherwise take.
“Without a doubt, Mrs. Pendleton is a truly invaluable asset
to the District 6 family, as well as to the entire Sheriff’s
Office, and she is truly deserving of this recognition,”
said Sgt. Ted Richard in his letter nominating Pendleton for
the award.
Telecommunicator of the quarter honors went to Craig Kenyon,
who was rewarded for volunteering to train new
telecommunicators while at the same time exhibiting his
superb ability to handle important calls under stressful
conditions. One particular incident in June resulted in
Kenyon calmly and professionally talking a mentally unstable
subject into unarming himself and turning himself in to
waiting law enforcement units. Later, the sergeant who had
been on scene called the communications center to complement
Kenyon on the great job he did. During the busiest times,
Kenyon can be counted on to be a major team player and he is
always willing to do what is needed to get the job done.
“You exemplify what telecommunicators are,” said Sheriff
Johnson. “What a great job you all do.”
Volunteer of the quarter Michael Burda has been in the
Citizen Observer Program since 2001, and has earned a
reputation as a loyal, dependable person in the New Smyrna
Beach area where he volunteers. Besides patrolling at least
twice weekly, he also is a COP supervisor and one of the
most reliable person to call upon when needed. Burda put in
a multitude of hours during the most recent fire season and
attended every Sheriff’s Office 100 Deputies/100 Kids
charity function in the district. Burda especially doesn’t
let personal or health issues get in the way of his
volunteer duties.
“We couldn’t do it without you,” said Sheriff Johnson. “Your
service gets more and more important all the time.”
