Major with Marion County Sheriff's Office wins Athena Award
It would take time and effort for Christy Utley, now a major, to prove herself as a woman who was cut out to work in a male-dominated field
Major with Marion County Sheriff's Office wins Athena Award It would take time and effort for Christy Utley, now a major, to prove herself as a woman who was cut out to work in a male-dominated field Check out this story on marionstar.com: https://www.marionstar.com/story/news/local/2019/03/11/major-marion-county-sheriffs-office-wins-athena-award/3128932002/
Sarah Volpenhein, Marion Star Published 3:47 p.m. ET March 11, 2019
Major Christy Utley, with the Marion County Sheriff's Office, is the winner of the 2019 Athena Award, which was presented Monday by the Marion Women's Business Council. Marion County Commissioner Andy Appelfeller, left, a former law enforcement officer, congratulates Utley. (Photo: Sarah Volpenhein/Marion Star)
WALDO — Ever since she was a little girl, she wanted to work in law enforcement.
But it would take time and effort for Christy Utley, now a major at the Marion County Sheriff's Office, to prove herself as a woman who was cut out to work in a male-dominated field, she said.
"When I first started, I got on as an auxiliary, which means you volunteer your time. I would volunteer 20 to 100 hours a month to prove myself, to be able to get in there because I knew there was no women on the road" patrol, she told the Star Monday.
On Monday, Utley received the Athena Award from the Marion Women's Business Council, which has presented the award every year since 1998 to a woman who shows professional leadership, community service and a passion for advancing women.
Utley served as an auxiliary deputy for about two years from 1998 to 2000, she said. In 2000, she hoped to become a deputy sheriff when the position opened up. But she said she was "passed over a couple times."
"They hadn't had a good experience with women on the road," she said. "I said, 'Well, I want to change that. Give me a shot.'"
She worked as a dispatcher from 2000 to 2002, when she finally got that shot and was made a Marion County deputy sheriff, she said.
At the time, her children were around 4 and 8 years old, she said, during which time she worked a lot of late night shifts to allow herself to spend time with her children during the day.
From there, she rose in the ranks, joining the MARMET Drug Task Force in 2004. She was promoted to lieutenant in 2015, and last year, she became major of operations.
It's people whom she helped who remind her why she got into the field.
"I have people now that still contact me and say, 'Thank you for keeping me clean because you made a difference in my life.' That's why I became a cop," she said.
The Marion Women's Business Council will donate about $3,340 to the Boys and Girls Club of Marion County, the nonprofit of Utley's choice. A matching donation of $2,500 will also be donated to the Boys and Girls Club by Modern Woodmen of America, a financial services organization.
Five other women were nominated for the Athena Award this year: Joyce Butterman, Ellen Messenger, Jacqueline Ringer, Amber Wertman and Nicole Workman.
svolpenhei@gannett.com
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