Corrections_Today_May_June_2019

Award Winners

The Martin Luther King Jr. Scholarship Award Each year, ACA awards the Martin Luther King Jr. Scholarship Award to a minority student receiving higher education in the criminal justice field. This year’s recipient, Shalvit Grimes, was unable to attend the 2019 Winter Conference, but the scholarship has been sent to her college, St. John’s University. Grimes is majoring in criminal justice with a minor in social justice, and has been selected to be an Ozanam Scholar, a prestigious achievement that will help her investigate and address real-world social justice issues and inspire change. Her passion and commitment to the criminal justice field, along with her demonstrated leadership abilities, shows that she is a bright sign for the future of corrections.

The Award of Merit The Award of Merit is given to an individual who has gone above and beyond the call of duty while outside of his/her professional duties. This year, Sgt. Ernest Cordwell was awarded for showing outstanding bravery and risking his own life to save the lives of others. On April 29, 2018, Sgt. Cordwell was driving home after his night shift at Wakulla Correctional Institution and noticed a vehicle turn south into a northbound lane. He followed the driver for 11 miles, frantically trying to get their attention to prevent an accident. Unfortunately, the driver crashed head-on into another vehicle carrying a woman and an eight-year-old passenger. Sgt. Cordwell attempted to administer assistance to all three passengers, but to no avail, as all three individuals were pronounced dead at the scene. In receiving the award from Myers, Sgt. Cordwell said, “I credit my response to this stressful situation to my training with the Florida Department of Corrections for nearly, almost 11 years. … This experience has made me stronger and more resolved to use my best judgement to perform my sworn duties to the best of my ability.” The Award of Merit is presented to Sgt. Ernest Cordwell for his outstanding bravery.

— Robert Breckenridge II

2019 Winter Conference

Enrollment for the 2020 ACA Awards are underway Don’t miss your chance to nominate someone who has shown bravery and has made significant strides to improve the corrections field. Award nomination forms begin on page 90.

2020 award nomination forms can also be found online at: www.aca.org

istock/D3Damon

Although we tried to include all awards presented at ACA’s 2019 Winter Conference, we apologize for any awards or individuals that may have been missed due to deadlines.

50 — May/June 2019 Corrections Today