When Lynn Lee went to work at the Holmes County, Fla., Jail one March morning last year, she had no idea how closely her professional and personal lives were about to intersect.  A call came in to the dispatcher, who works right next to the jail's booking area where Lee was conducting her daily business, around 10:00 a.m.: A local police officer had been shot in the line of duty - it was her husband.

Rather than panic, Lee worked with the dispatcher to ensure that the incident was reported to all appropriate parties.  She maintained her composure while she called an ambulance for her spouse, who she knew had been injured, but had no idea how badly.  Because there were only two corrections officers working at the jail at the time, Lee refused to leave to tend to her husband until she was relieved by another CO.  Despite her personal crisis, her responsibilities at the jail came first.

Because of her dedication to her job and her swift response when her husband was injured, Lee was named "Corrections Officer of the Year" by the Florida Sheriffs Association last month.  Recently, The Corrections Connection caught up with Lee, who talked about her career, her husband and the award.

Q: How did you find your way into the corrections field?

Lee: Basically, I started working for the sheriff's office [as a] dispatcher [in the jail and] all the dispatchers [had] to be corrections certified.

A friend of mine worked here and they [needed] a dispatcher.  I was going through criminal justice school at [the time] he called and wanted to know if I would be interested in dispatching.

I started in 1994 [and] got certified in corrections in 1995 [by] going through the corrections school [for] six months.

From 1994 to 1998, I dispatched [and] from 1998 until now, I have worked in the jail.

For a while, I [was a] bailiff and then [I worked doing] transports.  Now I am the sergeant over one of the shifts here in the jail.  [I am responsible for the] care, custody and control of inmates.

I have been a sergeant since 2003 - this is a really small facility, [with an average daily population of] between 80 [and] 100.

Q: What are some of your day-to-day responsibilities?

Lee: I come [to work] in the morning and check over paperwork see how many [offenders] have come in the night before.  I do the normal headcounts [of] the inmates and make sure everything is running smoothly during the day.

Q: What do you find most challenging about your job?

Lee: [It is difficult to make] sure the inmates listen to each corrections officer the same and have the same amount of respect for the corrections officers.  [I also have to] just make sure that everything is running like it's supposed to.

[But], I have been here for so long and [that] it makes it a lot easier [to do my job because] most of the [inmates] are repeat offenders [and] I have known them.  They pretty much grew up in jail. 

Q: You recently were named "Corrections Officer of the Year" by the Florida Sheriffs Association for your ability to maintain control of a difficult situation and remain focused on your job.  Can you discuss that incident?

Lee: I was working in the jail that day, March 27, 2004.  My husband is a police officer with the Bonifay Police Department.  He was working the day shift that day and dispatch is right next to the booking area [of the jail].  It was a slow day.  I heard the 911 phone ring [and] we had a part-time dispatcher in there.  I basically went in there to listen, see what was going on [and help her if I could].  She told me a little bit about [the situation, which involved a man firing shots in his yard].  I called the Bonifay Police Department myself to see if it was in the city's or the county's [jurisdiction] or to see if the sheriff's department would respond or the police.

She let me talk to my husband, [who was on duty that day], on the phone and he said he would go and handle it [because] it was in his jurisdiction.

I went back out into the booking area and started going over paperwork.  I heard the 911 phone ring again [and] the dispatcher [came] to [my] doorway and told me that she thought [my husband] had been shot.  I went in there with her [and] helped her answer more phone calls and everything.  I heard him on the radio, I believe, say that he had been shot in the leg. But, then, that was all I knew.  I dispatched the ambulance [for him].

[I was a] basket case.  I couldn't leave [the jail] due to the fact that the roaming corrections officer that day had taken an inmate to the hospital, [so] it was only myself and another officer on [duty].  The dispatcher kept telling me to leave and I knew I could not leave.  I called our sheriff.  I called my husband's father and I called my father, who works with us, also, and told him what had happened.  I called another CO who was off-duty to come up here [and take my place].  [The other CO] arrived, probably within 15 minutes.

I left here and actually I went towards the scene of the incident.

Q: How is your husband?

Lee: He is still waiting to get released from the doctors to get back to work.  He was glad that I was here to help the other dispatcher and everything.  The offender died in the hospital.

Q: What does receiving the "Corrections Officer of the Year" award mean to you?

Lee: I am honored.  It's really hard to explain.  I appreciate the sheriff nominating me for it and the Florida Sheriffs Association for awarding me out of all the nominations. 

Q: What are your plans for the future?

Lee:  [I plan to] just keep doing what I have been doing, stay here and do my normal, daily routine at the jail - not that it's ever a real routine, [but I will] just stay here and continue working.