On January 11,  2001 the Board of Directors unanimously approved a proposal to honor the memory of Lee McGehee who passed away on September 19,  2000, by naming the Police Officer of the Year Award after him.   Subsequently, on June 10, 2001, thanks to the support from Unisys Corporation, the Board decided to expand the scope of the program to recognize an Officer of the Year from small (1 - 30 sworn officers),  medium (31 - 75 sworn officers) and large (more than 75 sworn officers) size agencies.

With the passing of Director Lee McGehee, law enforcement lost a visionary who made a significant difference not only as a police practitioner but an educator who had a passion and talent for developing and preparing future police leaders.

A native Floridian, Lee, 57, was born and educated in Ocala, Florida. He began his career in law enforcement, which spanned nearly 43 years, as a high school student working part time with the Marion County Sheriff's Office. At the time of his death, Lee McGehee was the Director of the Florida Criminal Justice Executive Institute. He accepted the position within the Florida Department of Law Enforcement in 1995, after retiring as Chief of Police for the City of Ocala having served in that position for 21 years. Prior to his tenure as Chief of Police, he served as Director of Administration for the St. Petersburg Police Department and Director of Planning for the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office. His law enforcement career also includes service as an Ocala police officer from 1965-1967.

Director Lee McGehee was an accomplished academician. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminology from Florida State University and a Master of Public Administration degree from the University of Georgia. He also completed portions of a Doctoral program in Public Administration, and attended the University of Florida College of Law. He served as a member of the faculty of the University of Georgia's Institute of Government, as an instructor in Police Administration for St. Petersburg Junior College and as an adjunct professor at Rollins College and the University of Central Florida.

A Life Member of the Florida Police Chiefs Association, Director McGehee served as President from 1989-1990 and as the Association's Parliamentarian. Lee was a long term member of the Lee was also active in his community and his church. He served on the Board of Directors for the Ocala-Marion County Chamber of Commerce, Historical Ocala Preservation Society, Ocala United Way, Boy's Club of Ocala and the Marion County Association for Retarded Citizens. He was also involved as a member of the First Baptist Church of Ocala, taught Sunday school, held the position of Deacon, Training Director, and served on the Personnel and Budget Commission. He was a former Chairman of the State Board of Missions, Commissioner of Christian Life Commission, and Vice President of the Florida Baptist Convention.

NOMINATION PROCEDURES

ELIGIBILITY: All sworn, full-time Florida Police Officers, below the rank of Chief, of FPCA member agencies are eligible. Nominations may be made for exceptional achievement in any police endeavor, including extraordinary valor, crime prevention, investigative work, community policing, traffic safety, drug control and prevention, juvenile programs and training programs. An "Officer of the Year" will be selected from each of the following sized agencies:

• Small (1 - 30 sworn officers)
• Medium (31 - 75 sworn officers)
• Large (more than 75 sworn officers)

Nominations for the awards should be made for police endeavors, either on-duty or off-duty, that occurred between January 1 and December 31 of the previous year. An agency may nominate only one officer. You may nominate more than one officer if they worked together as a team and were involved in the same incident or project. This will count as one nomination. Neither the individual making the nomination or the nominee need be a member of the FPCA.

ENDORSEMENT: Nominations must have a signed endorsement from the agency head.

NOMINATIONS: While the attached nomination form must accompany the nomination,there is no specified format required for nominations. However, it is suggested that nominations include:

• A statement of the specific circumstances involving police performance that went beyond normal job requirements (three pages or less).



• Please do not submit videotapes or place any of the above materials in a notebook.

Please note that photographs and nomination materials will not be returned.