Chandler
Makena Billingham, an 8th grade student nominated
Officer Tony Matthews as the 2009 Employee of the
Year for the Jackson Police Department. Along with
Chandler, officers also nominated Tony. Chandler’s
nomination reads as follows:
Tony has been a highlight of our
year. He has been everything we need and more. In
class, at lunch, even in the morning he has been
nothing but a hero to Jackson Hole Middle School.
Tony helps us in class when we need it, has helped
the teachers and he is an amazing addition to our
school. The thing about Tony is, he is ALWAYS nice
and sensitive. He is amazing and helps us with
anything. If you have a problem, go to Tony. Tony
has gotten us through this year and personally I
can’t wait until we see him next year. Jackson
Middle School would not be able to stand the mental
or physical problems that we have without him. He
has been the best addition to our school yet. We
love him and will never forget him.
Two Nominations from Jackson Police Department
personnel:
This is the second year that this officer has
represented our department as the School Resource
Officer. The hard work and dedication he has put
into this position is phenomenal. He attends
football games, track meets and dances. He teaches
classes on drug and alcohol abuse as well as teaches
the younger children about “stranger danger”. The
students at the JH Middle School can expect to see
his smiling face every morning promptly at 7:20
a.m. Tony is always cheerful and goes out of his
way to ensure that each student feels he/she could
approach him with whatever his/her “problem of the
day” is. Tony has been able to build relationships
with each one of the students and in turn intercepts
and often resolves many situations before they
become a crisis. This has significantly helped out
the patrol officers because it has completely
eliminated a need for their response.
Tony is HIGHLY regarded by all the
teachers, staff and students. On days that Tony
feels the need to take a vacation or go hunting….HE
IS GREATLY MISSED!!! I have heard Tony say on a
number of occasions how rewarding his job has been.
Many of us do not see or hear about the situations
that Tony deals with on a day to day basis. Tony,
thank you for all your hard work!! I cannot thank
you enough for stepping up to the plate and taking
the School Resource Officer position. You are good
at what you do and the kids love you!
Being assigned to dayshift I have
had the opportunity to work with him and to work
with the school and/or students at times. Hardly a
day goes by that someone in the community doesn’t
tell me how much they like Tony at the schools and
what a great job he is doing. He takes most of the
juvenile cases and completes them with little to no
assistance, which has taken a burden off of both
investigations and patrol at a time when staffing
levels are low. Tony interacts in a positive way
with the youth and they seem to trust him. In
addition, he has been a great ambassador to our
image through his positive interactions throughout
the community. Tony has been a great asset and
source of information for the department and his
contributions should not go unrecognized.
Nicely done Officer Matthews! YOU
ROCK!
Wyoming
School Resource Officers Association
