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OKALOOSA COUNTY
DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS
Crestview, Florida

The Okaloosa County Jail is
staffed with dedicated professionals
who manage the daily custodial and
oversight challenges associated with
individuals facing the prospect of
misdemeanor and felony charges, as
well as those suffering from mental
health and co­occurring substance
abuse issues. In the past year, those
demands have been intensified by
the presence of COVID­19. There
are many county employees and
vendors who work collectively and
tirelessly for the overall goal of
protecting the citizens of Okaloosa
County. This year, we honored per­
sonnel serving in those professions,
as well as our support staff, with­
out whom we could not function
effectively.
To celebrate and bring recogni­
tion to all that our correctional offi­
cers, nurses, and support staff do in
service to the citizens of Okaloosa
County, we held a weeklong Food
Truck Frenzy. An assortment of
food truck operators were arranged
in a daily rotation for variety, and
served staff, family, friends, and the
general public. Community support
for the event was so extraordinary
that each staff member was pre­
sented with two meal tickets to be
used throughout the week, with
additional meal tickets presented One of the most moving ele­
as prizes. Local banks, businesses, ments of the week was seeing
churches, and individuals spon­ officers interacting with members
sored staff meals, donated prizes of the public in a social atmosphere.
and gift bags, or contributed funds Employees came on their days off
to support the activities. to enjoy the festivities and brought
their families to interact with
Staff members were relieved
from their posts and allowed to coworkers. The food trucks were
open to the public, and patron­
order from the food trucks in per­ age by other county departments,
son, or their orders could be called law enforcement partners, and
in and delivered by a volunteer. An citizens was so spectacular that the
employee table was set up for staff event will likely become an annual
members to redeem their prizes and tradition.
pick up drinks, desserts, and boiled
peanuts. —Captain April McDaniel,
M.Ed., CJM

14 | SEPTEMBER | OCTOBER 2021 AMERICANJails