Waterbury, VT – In honor of National Correctional Officers and Employee Appreciation Week, the Vermont Department of Corrections celebrates the many contributions made each day by our corrections officers and employees in their life and work as dedicated public servants.
“This past year has been one of the most challenging years in the history of Vermont DOC,” said Commissioner Jim Baker. “The pandemic has tested the courage, grit and dedication of the folks who serve night and day in our correctional facilities, our field offices, and throughout the department. These dedicated employees deserve the support of all Vermonters. Their stories of dedication deserve to be told and recognized – this week and every week.”
Throughout the week, there will be celebrations going on across the state to honor correctional officers, including hosted lunches and Twitter messages highlighting the staff at each correctional facility (@VTCorrections).
This week, Vermont DOC received the following message on social media. It demonstrates how DOC staff serve every day, without promise of thanks or acclaim: “Today, while headed to pick up my kid from school, someone cut me off, and I hit the curb! The two officers are the only people in two hours that stopped on a busy road to help a mom and three kids. They were kind, knowledgeable, they changed my tire, and switched a tire from the back to the front. They were kind, interacted with my kids, and helped me! They literally saved my afternoon, we have just moved and all family is two hours away so I had literally no one to call for help. They were working up a sweat and getting dirty in an inconvenient place! Please send my endless thank you’s along to their supervisor. They were true gentlemen.”
Governor Phil Scott signed a proclamation officially recognizing May 2-8, 2021 as “Correctional Employees Week”: https://governor.vermont.gov/content/correctional-employees-week-proclamation-21-047. Nationally, this tradition began in 1984, when President Ronald Reagan declared the first week in May as “National Correctional Officers Week” by presidential proclamation. The tradition has continued ever since, and now includes all correctional employees.
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