Meet Gail
A MEMBER OF THE COMMUNITY
In 1984, my family and I were fortunate to purchase a home in
Carroll County. While raising two daughters, I was employed as
an Administrative Aide for the Baltimore County Police Department.
Despite working full-time, I made time for my children. I was a Girl
Scout Troop Leader and then a 4H Leader when my daughters'
decided to join the Horse Force 4Hclub.
CAREER BEGINNINGS
As an Administrative Aide for the Baltimore County Police Department, I gained a great deal of experience when it came to the operations of the police department. I managed day to day operations, creating and sending correspondence within the department, ensuring that the office was adequately supplied to run smoothly, and making sure we were operating within budget. Here, I learned self-confidence since much of the time, I was the only Administrative Aide in the office and later was tasked with training others. Over time, my supervisors put more faith in me as I proved that I could handle the responsibility.
I am proud of my participation in several other projects in my time as a civilian employee with the Baltimore County Police Department. When the decision was made to create a Police Museum at the Public Safety Building in Towson, Maryland, I was asked to be part of the planning committee. My responsibilities included helping to procure the items in the museum and planning the grand opening once the project was finished. Additionally, I was involved with the Police Assistance Relief Fund (PAR Fund) for police officers in need of financial assistance. I joined that committee to help coordinate the annual foot race that raises money for the PAR Fund.
When the Baltimore County Police Department decided to host a multi-jurisdictional police conference, I was again asked to assist. Hosted in cooperation with the Newport News Police Department and the Richmond Virginia Police, the East Coast Conference provided seminars on policing, events to build networking opportunities, and avenues to encourage community policing. It was my responsibility to handle the financial logistics, including collecting participation fees, paying for speakers, and ensuring that the balance after the event was forwarded to the next agency to host the event for expenses.
During my time as an Administrative Aide, I began volunteering for the Maryland Special Olympics Torch Run Committee, a multi-jurisdictional organization committed to raising funds to benefit Special Olympics. This led to many years of involvement with a variety of fundraisers. In 1991, this committee developed a cycling event known as "Spring Heat", an event that helped raise money for 11 years. Later, we assisted the Maryland State Police in creating the Polar Bear Plunge.
Today, this event raises millions
of dollars for a great cause. I am proud to be part of the original
committee members, as well as one of the original plungers. For
each of these causes, I helped in whatever way was needed:
planning and organizing, collecting registrations, coordinating food
for participants, and participating in and supporting these events when I could.
BECOMING A POLICE OFFICER
During my time as an Administrative Aide, I had expressed my interest in attending the police academy to become a Baltimore County Police Officer. However, I made the decision to put my family first and set that dream aside.
In 1999, my husband and I divorced, and at that point, I chose to pursue a career as a police officer. It had always been something I had wanted to do, but the reality was that it would be hard to provide for my children and maintain our home on an Administrative Aide's salary.
It was time for a career change. I entered the police academy in December of 1999
My daughters encouraged me and made huge sacrifices as I made this change and I
am extremely proud of their selfless acts. They took care of many tasks around the
house, allowing me time to study and work my way through the academy. As a team,
we were able to keep our home and I was able to graduate from theacademy in June 2000.
I was assigned to Precinct 1-Wilkens, where I was stationed for the entirety of my career. I worked hard to gain acceptance in the police department and the community served, including building a relationship with local business owners. Through the years, I gained the respect of supervisors and fellow officers, often taking on the role of acting supervisor in the absence of the shift supervisor. One of my most enjoyable roles was that of a Field Training Officer, in which I mentored young police officers who had just graduated the academy.
During my career, I continued to participate in special committees and events. In January
2007, I was awarded the Baltimore County Police Assistance Relief Fund Humanitarian
Award.
I was honored to receive several awards throughout my career. I was awarded the Precinct
1 Police Officer of the Month at least seven times and in 2009, I received the Police Officer
of the Year award issued by the Knights of Columbus. In 2010, I received the Maryland Retailers Association Law Enforcement Award for my continued positive interaction with businesses in my district. In 2016, I won the American Legion Officer of the Year for my continued work in the community.
My final award came in February of 2018. I was awarded the Silver Star, Baltimore County Police Department's second highest award. After responding as a back-up officer to a situation in which a subject had a gun, I recognized a local citizen that I had interacted with several times on patrol. Since I knew the person, I stepped in to take a lead role as primary officer. I was able to de-escalate the situation and have the individual surrender the weapon with no injuries to themselves or the responding officers.
I made the decision to retire in 2020. I remarried in 2007 to my amazing husband and became a step-mother to two wonderful grown sons. We continue to live in the Carroll County home purchased in 1984.
