Sheriff’s Office Cpl. Receives Prestigious Office Citation Award
(By Sheri Trusty, Seneca County Sheriff’s Office Public Relations Coordinator)
When Kim Gee-Callahan was incarcerated for the 12th time, she was defeated, hopeless, and lost in the disease of addiction. But in the Seneca County Jail she found an advocate, Cpl. Barbara Brooks, who helped Gee-Callahan see herself the way Cpl. Brooks saw her, as a person of value and potential.
On Feb. 27, Gee-Callahan returned to the jail to help Seneca County Sheriff Fredrick Stevens present Cpl. Brooks with the distinguished Office Citation Award, one of the most prestigious awards of the Buckeye State Sheriff’s Association. Cpl. Brooks will wear the award pin on her uniform as a daily reminder of her exemplary service.
Gee-Callahan was broken when she entered the jail for the 12th time.
“I could not comply with probation. I couldn’t get it right,” she said. “I battled Children’s Services and lost my son. I couldn’t get it together. That’s the disease of addiction. I gave up 12 times.”
Gee-Callahan didn’t know how to shut out the voices inside her head that told her there was no way out of the spiral of addiction. So Cpl. Brooks became a voice of hope for her.
“Ms. Brooks gave me encouraging, empowering words of what my life could be like,” Gee-Callahan said. “Ms. Brooks saved me. For that, I’m forever grateful.”
Because Cpl. Brooks poured time and compassion into her, Gee-Callahan has a new life today. She celebrated six years of sobriety in January, and she regained custody of her son. The impact Cpl. Brooks made is now rippling across the region through Gee-Callahan.
“I got my chemical dependency counselor license and have worked in a treatment facility for four years,” she said. “I’m a present mom, daughter, and member of society, showing others there is hope from a dark place.”
Sheriff Stevens honored Cpl. Brooks’ exemplary service by presenting her with the Office Citation Award. Cpl. Brooks earned the award by meeting its third criterion for “outstanding actions of a nature which bring unusual credit to the office and its members.”
During the award presentation, Sheriff Stevens said that the praise Cpl. Brooks received from Gee-Callahan and other former inmates “are a testament in and of itself to your empathy and caring for others and the passion for your role as a Corrections Officer.”
Cpl. Brooks’ actions reflect the high standards of selfless service that are a foundation of the Seneca County Sheriff’s Office.
“Through your unselfish actions and your commitment to this community and by modeling the way and setting the expectations of what a Seneca County Corrections Officer should be doing day in and day out, it has brought great credit upon the County of Seneca, the Sheriff’s Office, and upon yourself, and you are hereby awarded the Office Citation Award,” Sheriff Stevens said.
On Feb. 27, Gee-Callahan walked into the Seneca County Sheriff’s Office for the 13th time, but this time, she stood before Cpl. Brooks as an equal and as a friend. She walked in a free woman, grateful for the opportunity to thank Cpl. Brooks for saving her life.