Page 7 - TPA Journal January February 2022

haul, I needed to have a strong spiritual life. Sergeant? He said that he hated his Sergeant
He stressed to me to always remember that
everything I did, both on and off duty,
directly reflected upon the Department of
Public Safety. And probably the most
impactful was reinforcing to me that family
comes before the job.
My first Sergeant graduated from the DPS
Academy in 1957, which was five years
before I was even born. Even though we
were so generationally different, I still
consider him today to be the best and most
influential leader that I have ever worked for.
He truly exemplified servant leadership. His
Sergeant Area consisted of four counties with
a total of 10 troopers. He genuinely cared
about each one of us, and because of our
loyalty to him, we never wanted to let him
down. He was literally within days of retiring
when on June 16, 1993, one of our fellow
Sergeant Area Troopers, Steve Booth, was
shot and killed during a traffic stop north of
Stratford, Texas. I raced to the scene as fast
as I could and was met close to the shooting
scene by my Sergeant. I knew that Steve had
been shot, but I was unaware if he was alive
or dead. The Sergeant took me aside, and
calmly told me that Steve was killed, and
immediately sent me to the shooting scene to
assist with the investigation. We were all
devastated. He told me later that he was so
glad he didn’t retire before the shooting,
because he wanted to be there for us. He
was exactly right because he was our rock.
Because of him, I firmly believe that the first
line supervisor is vital to the success of any
organization. My old school Highway Patrol
Sergeant’s encouragement, leadership, and
mentoring are the reasons that I even gave
thought to promote. I asked him once when
he was riding with me during a performance
observation, why did he decide to be a
Jan.-Feb. 2022 www.texaspoliceassociation.com • (512) 458-3140
so bad that the only way he could get away
from him was to promote. Even bad
leadership can sometimes lead to positive
change.
Throughout my life I have had excellent
mentors and leaders that modeled what
success looks like. Those that I have
mentioned in this article are just a small
portion of people that have provided support
and guidance. Most may not have ever
known what impact they had on me. I have
been fortunate enough to personally tell
some over the years, and I strongly
encourage you to do the same if you have the
opportunity. I know what it has meant to me
when someone that I supervised over the
years has told me the impact I have had on
them.
If we truly pay attention to where we have
been, then we are so much better prepared
for where we are going. Change is necessary
in moving forward, but we must keep one
foot firmly planted foundationally in how we
got there. Have you mentored someone
today?
Oh, and by the way, that friend of mine who
told me what a wonderful experience he had
in Recruit School? I called him during the
first week to inform him that he lied……but
thanked him for never giving up on me when
I needed that constant encouragement to
take that first step.
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