(Prince Albert Police Service/Facebook)

By Derek Craddock

EXEMPLARY SERVICE

‘It’s special’: Simonson family honoured for police work

Sep 17, 2021 | 8:00 AM

It was a big occasion for three members of the same family who also happen to be serving with the Prince Albert Police Service.

Cst. Derek Simonson, his wife Sgt. Lisa Simonson and brother Cst. Trevor Simonson recently received the Governor General’s Police Exemplary Service Medal.

The award is given to members of a police force who have served at least 20 years.

For Lisa, she said it was a huge honour to be recognized for a profession she takes great pride in.

“It’s giving me the opportunity to reflect on the past 21 years that I’ve had with policing,” she said. “I’m very thankful to be able to serve my community and serve them for so long. I’ve also been extremely fortunate to work alongside many talented colleagues.”

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“We have a great team here,” said Derek when asked about receiving the honour as a member of the Prince Albert Police. “Sometimes in policing, you deal with a lot of negative things and issues so from time to time when you do receive a recognition or accolade, it feels good.”

The Police Exemplary Service Medal was created in 1983 to recognize officers who have completed 20 years of full-time service with one or more recognized Canadian police forces outside the RCMP and the Canadian Forces.

Both Lisa and Derek acknowledge the honour is made more special given that they get to share it together as a family.

“It’s kind of neat that we are all family members,” Derek said.

“I’m very proud to be able to share the Police Exemplary Service medal with both my husband who has been policing for 24 years and my brother-in-law who has also been policing for 20 years,” Lisa added.

The Simonson’s say they’re proud of the career choice they made and are hopeful more people take the initiative to be involved in policing in the future.

The Police Exemplary Service Medals were awarded in the same week that local paramedics were also recognized with the Governor General Exemplary Service Medal for EMS, having completed at least 20 years of service.

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Derek.craddock@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @PA_Craddock