Recipients of the 2021 CCR/SART awards are (left to right) Jason Stone,
Janoa Ellis, Amanda Keeton and John Owens.
Monday, November 1, 2021 - Each year, in October, the Sequoyah County Coordinated Community Response/Sexual Assault Response Team (CCR/SART) honors several deserving individuals in the county with domestic violence awards. This year the team presented four individual and two group awards.
Cindy Smith, Investigator with the Sequoyah County Sheriff's Office and special Victims Unit (SVU), said, "These individuals were chosen by a team vote accompanied by a written testimonial for each recipient, giving the reason for their nomination."
This year, awards were presented to the following:
Jason Stone, with the Sequoyah County Sheriff’s office, received the Law Enforcement Officer of the Year Award.
Janoa Ellis, with the Department of Human Services, received the Volunteer of the Year Award.
Amanda Keeton, District 27 Attorney’s office and Victim/Witness Coordinator, received Advocate of the Year Award.
John Owens, of the District 27 District Attorney’s office and a retired Sallisaw Police officer, received the Helen Edwards Lifetime Achievement award.
"Recipients of these awards display excellence in their fields and an outstanding dedication to victims and survivors of domestic violence, stalking, sexual assault, and human trafficking. We thank each one of them for their service," Smith stated.
"In addition, we also chose two organizational recipients to receive the Meritorious Service Award for 2021. These two organizations went above and beyond to provide support, financial or otherwise, for the victims and survivors of domestic violence," Smith added.
(Left to right) CCR/SART Coordinator Cindy Smith, drug court graduates Kerrye Lawson, Sarah McKinney, Todd McGowan and Drug Court Coordinator Tina Edwards.
"The Sequoyah County Drug Court, received the Meritorious Service Award for their donation of over $1200.00 to our team," Smith said. Kerrye Lawson, Todd McGowan and Sarah McKinney teamed up during their class project, and held a fundraiser for the Sequoyah County CCR/SART. "They said they wanted to give back to the community and help victims and survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault," Smith said.
The second Meritorious Service Award was given to the Masonic Lodge #120 of Sallisaw. The Masons held a pancake breakfast fundraiser and donated over $600.00 to the CCR/SART. "The Masonic Lodge #120 has helped many times in the past, from volunteering at our events to fundraising and helping to provide the resources needed by the victims/survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault, so we are able to continue outreach with the communities we serve," Smith explained.
"We are so thankful for our community partners and our dedicated team members, who work diligently to let it be known that Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault will not be tolerated in Sequoyah County," Smith stated.
Lindsie Dyer, Staff Writer
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