MCSO and Multnomah County citizens have big hearts this year

The recession has hit everyone hard. A person would need to live under a rock not to feel the strain, particularly this time of year when there may be fewer dollars for presents and other holiday entertainment.

At MCSO, staff and volunteers continued the time honored tradition of helping out those less fortunate by hosting the annual Transitional School Party, Shop with a Cop, the SnoCap Toy Drive, and the Menlo Park Care Center Party.

Wreaths boasting name tags of those in need were placed in every facility. As is the tradition, the names were quickly adopted and mountains of wrapped gifts began to accumulate daily.

The 21^st annual Portland Transitional School Party was held last Thursday and 96 children arrived to celebrate in a room that had been magically transformed by the Work Crew the day before. Lunch was donated by Izzy's Pizza, Aramark donated sodas, cookies and ice cream, and the Keizer Elks Club donated an exquisite fruit tray. The Trail Blazer's Blaze made an appearance as did Santa and Mrs. Claus while gifts including warm coats, new shoes, toys, games, books, and sports equipment were handed out to each child by MCSO employees and Wilson High School students.

Sheriff Staton, adopted 2 children this month to participate in Shop-with-a-Cop for Christmas gifts and Law Enforcement collected 177 55 gallon bags of toys for their annual SnoCap toy drive! Our own Rhoda English, spent weeks collecting donations for 58 Menlo Park Care Center residents and last week a group stuffed stockings for each person.  They will be celebrating with together on Wednesday the 22nd.

This has truly been a year of many blessings and generous hearts.

Thank you to all who participated in making such an impact for so many in our community.

Upcoming Events

Here are two great Oregon Special Olympics fundraisers to Support


Polar Plunge February 12, 2011:

Tip A Cop March 26, 2011: Another great fundraiser that MCSO participates in each year. Grab a yummy burger at Mall 205 Red Robin and support Special Olympics!
More details to come. 

2010 OSSA SUPERVISOR OF THE YEAR

 SERGEANT DIANA OLSEN

The investigation for a missing child grabs at the very heart of every emergency responder.  In recent times the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office has and still is working on a high profile missing child case out of western Multnomah County.  While every employee of the agency stepped up to answer the call in their own way, some fulfilled their responsibilities in a way that exceeded every expectation.

In her role as the Head Search and Rescue Coordinator for the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office, Sergeant Diana Olsen is one of those.

From the first hours after the Sheriff's Office was notified of the missing child on June 6th, Sergeant Olsen directly oversaw the first search efforts as local resources were called up.  As the incident continued she remained on site, assuming the Incident Commander position for several operational periods while the SAR effort and her support staff grew in size.

The management of the search effort was mind boggling to say the least.  In the initial large scale operational periods there were over 350 SAR personnel in the field, with over 2000 in total over the time frame of the major first efforts.  In this major mutual aid event, nearly every county in the State of Oregon and several out of state resources responded, housed, fed, put to work it the field, and ultimately demobilized.  While overseeing and managing these events, Sergeant Olsen was also tasked as the media liaison for the SAR operation to not only local news outlets but also national media providers.

As the initial efforts scaled down, Sergeant Olsen oversaw and directed the demobilization of hundreds of staff, the accounting for of thousands of dollars worth of equipment, and the distribution of a large supply of donated goods.

Sergeant Olsen's first "day off" from the incident and first time she spent longer than 8 hours away from the SAR command post was on June 19^th, 13 days after the first efforts started.

The mission and Sergeant Olsen's devoted service to it continues to this day with continuous planning and field operations with the number of SAR personnel averaging between 100-150 per operational period.  To date, mission efforts in total are on record as the largest search in the State of Oregon in terms of personnel and length of continuous operations.

Sergeant Olsen's exemplary service brings great credit not only to herself, but her unit, her agency, and the SAR community as a whole.

                  

Congratulation to Sergeant Olsen for her commitment to the people of Multnomah County and to MCSO.

 Lt Vera Pool receives the Robert Philips Diversity Champion Award

The 17^th Annual Northwest Public Employees Diversity Conference took place November 2, 2010 at the Convention Center.  This year, in a joint effort, Multnomah, Clackamas, and Clark Counties; the City of Portland, the City of Vancouver, Metro, the Portland Development Commission, the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality and other government agencies honored one individual, group or team for their outstanding contributions to diversity and inclusion.

The purpose of the Robert Phillips- Diversity Champion Award is to honor employees, work groups, teams or Departments that demonstrate a respect for and commitment to diversity that goes beyond their day-to-day job performance. In keeping with the spirit of Robert Phillips we are seeking nominations where extraordinary contributions have been made regarding diversity and inclusion.  We are asking you to assist us in identifying and nominating individuals and work groups who have supported, promoted and implemented efforts to bring diversity and/or inclusion to your government organization.

The Northwest Public Employees Diversity Conference Planning Committee honored Vera Pool for her extraordinary achievements at this year's conference by giving her the Robert Phillips Regional Diversity Award.

This award is given for her outstanding contributions to cultivating environments of Diversity and Inclusion.   Her contributions have included extraordinary achievements as a leader in the Sheriff's Office and the broader community, as an advocate and relationship builder regarding equality. She have demonstrated strong leadership and strategic civic engagement that has impacted the hiring processes within her organization and empowered the broader community. 

CONGRATULATIONS TO YOU!