Oregon Officers Honored at Exchange Club Event (VIDEO)

The people honored were from local law enforcement agencies, the 911 center and the District Attorney's office.

Steve Cox won the honors for the Marion County Sheriff's Office Photo courtesy: Marion County Sheriff

(SALEM, Ore.) - Six individuals were recognized at the Exchange Clubs of Salem's annual Officer/Dispatcher/DDA of The Year luncheon held Wednesday, May 16th, 2007 from noon to 1:00 PM in Salem. Each honoree was presented with a plaque commemorating the outstanding contributions they have made to the community and their agency.

The event is normally hosted by Marion County Sheriff Raul Ramirez, who is recovering at this time from heart bypass surgery. Marion County District Attorney Walt Beglau who presented the award on behalf of his agency, said he had just visited the Sheriff, who is recovering well.

Still, the show had to go on and Undersheriff Greg Olson took that honor in the Sheriff's absence.

The year's honorees this year are:

Officer Gene Zuniga of the Keizer Police Department. Officer Zuniga joined the Keizer Police Department in 2004. He is currently assigned as a Motorcycle Officer and is a Defensive Tactics and Confrontation Simulation instructor for the department.

Detective Ben Bales of the Salem Police Department. Officer Bails has been a Salem Police Officer for ten years. His assignments have included the department's Drug Activity Response Team (DART) and the Traffic Control Unit. He has also developed a close working relationship with the Southeast Salem Neighborhood Association.

Trooper Joe DelGreco of the Oregon State Police. Trooper DelGreco is a member of the agency's Canine Unit. He and his dog have been responsible for more than 35 seizures of narcotics since 2006. The seizure of more than $335,000 also resulted from those activities.

Deputy District Attorney Courtland Geyer with the Marion County District Attorney's Office. DDA Geyer has been with the Marion District Attorney's Office since 1993. He currently manages the Child Abuse and Adult Sexual Assault Teams and is the co-chair of the Marion County Child Abuse Response Team. He has been a leader in bringing child abuse awareness training to the Salem-Keizer School District and community organizations.

Communications Specialist Jennifer Brinlee of the Willamette Valley Communications Center. Ms. Brinlee has been with WVCC since 2001. She is a Communications Training Officer. She is very active with Habitat for Humanity and is involved in a local dramatic arts program.

Deputy Steve Cox of the Marion County Sheriff's Office. Deputy Cox has been a deputy with the Marion County Sheriff's Office for 7 years. He has held assignments including Detective and Field Training Officer. He works closely with neighborhood watch groups and has spent countless hours raising funds for the Crisis Chaplaincy Services which provide chaplain services to police and fire agencies across Marion and Polk Counties.

WATCH THE VIDEO COVERAGE OF THE EVENT BELOW
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