MACPO Awards

The following awards are presented at the Annual MACPO Spring Conference.  Please take a moment to review the award descriptions and use the form below to nominate those deserving professionals. Nominations must come from a MACPO member.

 

AL REKER DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARD

This award is given to recognize contributions made by a individual over a sustained period of time to the field of probation. Further, this award was to acknowledge membership involvement rather than simply retirement. The recipient was to be selected by the Executive Board of MACPO for their exemplary contributions and dedication to the profession of probation/parole.

At the time the idea for this award came about, it seemed fitting to name it the Al Reker Memorial Award. Al Reker was one of the charter members of the Southern Minnesota Association of County Probation Officers, which later became MACPO. Al Reker was a native of southwestern Minnesota, where he long held the position of Chief Probation Officer in Nobles County until his death from cancer. He was an extremely dedicated, yet unpretentious man, who was well respected in the field of corrections as well as in his own community, where he served as a role model of many people. Al Reker was also known for his strong commitment to family. As a father of nine children, one of whom is a probation officer, it seemed only appropriate to name this award after Al Reker, for his contributions epitomize the MACPO probation officer.

The Al Reker Memorial Award has been distributed since 1982 and is received yearly at the MACPO spring conference. Al Reker recipients provided, and many continue to provide, exceptional leadership and dedication to the field of Corrections.

 

EXCELLENCE IN CORRECTIONS AWARD

 

This award is to be presented to a correction’s program, which has demonstrated outstanding leadership and development in the field of probation. This may be a non-profit organization, a privately run program, or a program within a court services or probation agency.

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE AWARD

 

This award is to be given to a probation officer in good standing with MACPO. It is to be presented to an individual who has demonstrated professionalism and leadership within their county or in the field of probation. This person must have been in the field for at least one year.

 

This individual may have implemented a new corrections program, worked in the community to bring new corrections related services to clients or simply is an incredibly hard working individual who merits recognition.

ROOKIE AGENT OF THE YEAR AWARD

This award is presented to a newer probation officer (One to three years in the field of probation) who has demonstrated abundant potential and professionalism in his/her early career. The award recipient presents a strong desire to learn on the job, participates in a variety of training opportunities, demonstrates enthusiasm and a positive attitude and works collaboratively with other more experienced probation officers/agents. This probation officer/agent has strong leadership potential, has brought new energy into their agency/department and is working toward a very promising future in the field of probation.

MACPO SUPERIOR SERVICE AWARD

This award originates from nominations of the MACPO Board of Directors to recognize an individual, group or agency which has provided superior service to advance the mission and goals of MACPO. It also provides an opportunity for committee chairs to nominate an individual committee member who has demonstrated strong leadership and exceptional service for MACPO.

EVIDENCE BASED PRACTICES (EBP) TRAINER/COACH/PRACTITIONER AWARD

This award is to be given to a probation officer in good standing with MACPO.  It is to be presented to an individual who has demonstrated leadership in the area of Evidence Based Practices (EBP).  This could be within their department, but special deference is given to statewide influence or service.

This individual may train an EBP discipline,  have implemented an evidence-based program, or coached peers in one of the EBP disciplines.  The EBP Award may also go to a probation officer who is particularly skilled in a range of EBP disciplines and influences others to increase their skills.

 

This award is given to any support staff or role of a support staff (including managers). it is presented to an individual who has demonstrated professionalism and leadership within their County. This individual may have implemented systems/ideas for more efficient work flow, exemplifies positive attitude, and repeatedly goes above and beyond their regular job duties or is simply a hard working individual who merits recognition.

 

This award will be presented at MACPO's Annual Spring Conference held in May 2023. To nominate a support staff personnel who you believe is deserving please complete the nomination form below and email to president@macpo.net.

 

The nomination form can be found here: