CORRECTIONS
Recognizing excellence in corrections
BRIAN DAWE
18 NEW JERSEY COPS ■ JULY 2018
The National Medal of Honor Foundation has one mission: recognizing excellence in corrections. How important are the National Medal of Honor Awards? What do they mean for our profession, to our image, to the public’ s perception of us? From where I sit, they are critical. The Awards is the only time that our profession gets the recognition it deserves— unless, of course, you count the hamburgers and hot dogs we get once a year during CO’ s week as recognition.
How many of you grew up wanting to be a soldier, a fireman or a police officer? As children, the images we see of those professions are those to emulate, to be proud of. What images are portrayed to the public about our profession? How many of you grew up wanting to be a correctional officer? Unless you are a legacy, there are very few people who want to go to jail, even with the keys. We are a unique breed. As the offensive lineman in criminal justice, we get the headlines only when we screw up. You know all this; you’ ve heard all the clichés and you live it every day.
Historically, there is only one other instance that a correctional officer is nationally recognized and honored for his contribution to society: when one of our number dies in the line of duty. Then we see the politicians’ tears and hear the empty promises of change: more staff, better equipment, more funding, blah, blah, blah. It’ s almost always lip service, and nothing ever comes of it, except perhaps another one of our brothers’ or sisters’ names on a memorial wall. It’ s a cold, hard fact that outside of the profession, no one cares.
Here’ s another fact: Without correctional officers, the whole system crumbles. We are literally the last thin blue line in the criminal justice system. After more than 150 years of jailing those deemed unfit to walk among society and working in the most depressing and deplorable working conditions in law enforcement, one would think that recognizing our profession for the sacrifices that we and our families make in the name of public safety would be automatic. Yet without the National Medal of Honor Foundation Awards, there would be no national recognition.
After a total reorganization with a new board of directors, new by-laws and new not-for-profit public charity status, the National Medal of Honor Foundation is again on solid footing and shall be for years to come. In this year’ s outreach, we called and mailed all 50 state Departments of Corrections, all 50 Sheriffs Associations and the 180 largest county jails in the nation. We mailed more than 3,500 posters and circulated nomination forms in every state. Under a new board, a new format and a fresh mission, these prestigious awards are back.( If you have any questions about why ACO closed its doors and what happened to the 2016 awards, please email me at BDawe82086 @ aol. com for a detailed amplification.)
As of June 21, with three weeks to go before nominations close, 22 nominations from 12 states have been submitted to the National Medal of Honor Selection Committee. During the years that I’ ve been honored to be at the forefront of this event, I’ ve come to expect a late rush of submissions just before nominations close. To date, the most nominations we have ever received in the 14 prior ceremonies that I have administered( CUSA 1998-2004, ACO 2008- 2015) is 32, but I suspect that we may surpass that number this year.
This event offers a time to come together and celebrate our profession. To toast the best of the best, and to honor the heroes who walk among us. This is not a time for division or politics or personal agendas. This is our opportunity to come together from every state in the nation and tell our story; a time to share in our camaraderie, to celebrate, to network and to applaud all of those who made it through another year. Here we are able to honor those who kept the lid on, and the facilities secured, so our fellow citizens could sleep well at night.
In addition to the pride we always feel during this weekend, we also have a great time. Make your reservations today and join in the celebration. You can even try your hand at riding a live bull!( Seriously, right next door to the hotel is Cowboys, where you can give the bull your best shot.)
There is a lot to do in Oklahoma City, from the Federal Building Memorial to the Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum to the Cattlemen’ s Café. With a meet-and-greet on Friday night and the awards banquet on Saturday evening, we expect a busy visit to Oklahoma City. Your payment of $ 99 covers both the meetand-greet and awards banquet. Our hotel block ensures attendees rooms that can accommodate four for only $ 92 a night.( Oh, and the beer at Cowboys is 25-cent drafts on Friday and Saturday night!)
Visit http:// themedalofhonor. com and check out the agenda and event information. Register today and join us in honoring our profession in Oklahoma City.
Let’ s have a ball— let’ s raise our voices and raise our glasses together. d
Brian Dawe spent 16 years as a state correctional officer in Massachusetts, beginning on May 31, 1982. He is a co-founder of the Massachusetts Correction Officers Federated Union, administrator for the Corrections and Criminal Justice Coalition and the executive director for Corrections USA and the American Correctional Officer. He is the originator and owner of the American Correctional Officer Intelligence Network.