By Angie Thompson/senior reporter
TIFTON — Trooper Melvin Simmons of Tifton’s Post 13 was presented the Tifton Elks Lodge’s Public Safety Officer of the Year during a reception held Thursday night at the lodge. The event was attended by members of all local law enforcement agencies, Elks members and others who support the work public safety officers perform on a daily basis.
Simmons was recently one of 50 Georgia troopers who served on the security detail for the presidential inauguration in Washington, D.C. The security detail for President Barack Obama’s inauguration was one of the largest in the country’s history.
Simmons was previously named the Tifton Optimist Club’s Raymond B. Merritt Officer of the Year. He also won the Elks’ award in a previous year. His supervisor, Commander Sgt. Scott Woodell, presented Simmons the award.
Each year, the Tifton Elks Lodge has honored a representative of each public safety-related office in the City of Tifton and Tift County with the awards. The overall winner of “Officer of the Year” is submitted to the Georgia Elks Association’s Public Safety Officer of the Year competition.
Department heads of each of the public safety agencies in the county are asked to submit nominations for officer of the year. A committee of Elks members then chooses the honoree from those nominations. Each nominee from every agency received recognition and a handsome plaque during Thursday’s banquet.
Also honored were:
• Officer Dorminey McCrae with the Tifton Police Department.
• Deputy Jeremy Little with the Tift County Sheriff’s Office.
• Capt. Bobby Bennett and firefighter Elliott Whitley with the Tifton-Tift County Fire Department.
• Chase Lott with the Tifton-Tift County Emergency Medical Service.
• Lt. Billy Purcell with the ABAC Police Department.
• Detention officer Sabrina Barnes with the Tift County Jail.
• Amy Culpepper with Tifton-Tift County Animal Control.
• Sgt. Richard Young of Georgia’s Motor Carrier Compliance Division.
• Assistant Director of Tifton-Tift County E-911 Christine Day.
• Thomas Godfrey with the Tift County Sheriff’s Office’s Explorer Award.
• Louise Spradley with the Tift County Sheriff’s Office received the Elks Lodge’s Citizenship Award.
To contact senior reporter Angie Thompson, call 382-4321.
