Hamilton County sheriff honors key employees at ceremony
Friday, April 15, 2011
SHERIFF HONOREESHere is the complete list of the 2011 Hamilton County Sheriff's Office honorees:• Mickey Rountree - Sheriff's Deputy of the Year• Brian Ashburn - Sheriff's Investigator of the Year• Tim Mann - School Resource Officer of the Year• Shelia Strange - Corrections Officer of the Year• Nathan Bates - Civil Process Server of the Year• Glen Pope - Court Officer of the Year• Sgt. Jody Mays - Supervisor of the Year• Capt. Lynn Triplett - Law Enforcement Manager of the Year• Ron Bernard - Civilian Manager of the Year• Patty Whittle - Civilian Employee of the Year• David Myrick - Reserve Deputy of the Year• Berndrudiger Haines - Life Saving AwardSource: Hamilton County Sheriff's Office
Detective Brian Ashburn began as the primary investigator of cases involving Internet sex crimes against children in Hamilton County.
On Thursday night, Ashburn was named investigator of the year. He was honored along with 11 other employees at the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office for their service after they were nominated by their peers.
"It's a hard job," said Ashburn standing near his two young daughters, Tiffany and Brandi, outside Chester Frost Park Pavilion as he clutched a plaque he just received.
"I'm honored to accept it. Without support from my sergeant, lieutenant and captain, I couldn't do it," Ashburn said.
Ashburn, who has worked as a detective for 11 years and worked as a law enforcement officer at the sheriff's office for a total of 18 years, also participates in the statewide Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force based in Knoxville.
Other honorees included Mickey Rountree, who was named deputy of the year.
"He was nominated by his peers. This is a great honor," said Sheriff Jim Hammond as he presented the award to Rountree and posed for a picture shortly after.
Berndrudiger Haines received the Life Saving Award.
The annual awards ceremony, which began four years ago, is a way to recognize achievements in law enforcement.
"It's a tough job. It's a morale booster. It's a way the department and community can thank law enforcement for the job they do," said Capt. Lenda Clark, who chairs the nine-person awards committee that sifts through nominations and chooses the award winners.
Clark said there are sometimes as many as nine or 10 nominations per category.
The ceremony also recognized employees who celebrated anniversaries with the sheriff's office ranging from five to 30 years, retirees and local business partners.