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Newaygo County sheriff honors two deputies as 2024 Deputies of the Year
Summary
Sheriff Mendel presented Deputy Kyle Harwood and Deputy Hicks with 2024 Deputy of the Year awards and a 10-year service pin for Captain Cook during an awards banquet; officials highlighted training, work ethic and emergency response duties.
Sheriff Mendel and the Newaygo County Sheriff’s Office honored two deputies as 2024 Deputies of the Year at a departmental awards banquet, singling out Deputy Kyle Harwood and Deputy Hicks for nominations that praised their training, leadership and work ethic.
The awards matter to the county because the sheriff’s office emphasized the role both deputies play in staff training and emergency response. Mendel noted the office includes about 30 road patrol deputies and roughly 38 corrections officers and said the awards recognize service that stands out among many qualified employees.
Mendel presented Harwood with a 10-year service pin and read excerpts from two nomination letters that described his performance. According to the letters read aloud, Harwood’s “high degree of work ethic allows him to keep his composure during high stress situations and stay focused on tasks at hand,” and he has “played a big role as an FTO, sharing his vast knowledge of jail policy and procedures with new hires.” Mendel read another nomination passage that called Harwood “truthful, dependable” and said he is “one of the smartest people that I know.”
Deputy Hicks, who the sheriff said has been with the office a little over six years, was recognized for training and mentoring newer deputies and for field leadership on the emergency response team. Mendel said nomination material credited Hicks with becoming “a team leader of our emergency response team” and noted the team handled about 13 calls last year — “a little over one a month,” he said — which department leaders described as unusually busy.
Mendel also surprised Captain Cook with a 10-year service pin. The presentation underscores the sheriff’s comments that the awards banquet was revived after Mendel was elected and is intended to recognize employees across patrol and corrections.
The ceremony concluded and the board proceeded to its regular meeting business, including appointments and contract approvals.
