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Friday, July 30, 2010 |
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Zwicke wins statewide award
Published July 24, 2009
Each year since he’s been sheriff, Arnold Zwicke has attended the annual conference of the Sheriffs’ Association of Texas.
And each year, Zwicke has sat at the reception where the organization gives out its annual awards.
The top award, the “Tom Tellepsen Award,” recognizes one Texas sheriff out of 254 for outstanding contributions to the advancement of law enforcement and criminal justice coupled with a human element that engraves his or her name in the hearts of the local community and who shows a genuine love for their community and for their profession.
“I always admired the people who got that award,” Zwicke said.
This week, at the association’s 131st annual conference, Zwicke joined them.
As he listened from his table, Zwicke heard the build-up to the introduction of this year’s recipient, which was carefully crafted to keep the secret until the very end of the presentation.
But it dawned on him that some of the things mentioned sounded rather familiar.
When it was said that the winning sheriff supported “Buck Fever” — a fundraiser unique to Guadalupe County — a shocked sheriff realized they were talking about him.
“It wasn’t something I was expecting,” Zwicke said. “When you’re competing with 253 other sheriffs, it’s quite a surprise and quite an honor.”
A businessman and native of Norway, Tellepsen became a patriotic American and a staunch supporter of law enforcement.
After his passing, his family created the Tellepsen Foundation to honor his lifelong commitment to community and law enforcement, and it has given the award each year since 1975.
While the award is given by the board of the sheriffs’ association, winning it requires more than a good career in law enforcement. It requires that the recipient be demonstrated to have reached out to his or her community as a whole and not just the law enforcement community, and brings a personal touch to their work that is recognized in the greater community and not just among law enforcement.
In Guadalupe County and even at the sheriff’s office, Zwicke isn’t called by his title or even his title and his last name.
He’s just called “Arnold.”
That’s why, in addition to the nomination submitted by Dawn Caddell and his employees, 26 letters from around Seguin — including a “Who’s Who” of local businesses and government — went to the sheriff’s association, recognizing Zwicke.
Seguin Police Chief Kevin Kelso said he was grateful upon coming to Seguin for Zwicke’s help and support of his agency — a city/county law enforcement relationship that isn’t always that common elsewhere.
“Arnold is the ultimate team player. He is always willing to help out in any capacity that he can,” Kelso said. “He is a true friend and an extraordinary leader in the community.”
County Judge Mike Wiggins, who, before winning elective office worked closely with Zwicke in his days as Seguin’s Department of Public Safety sergeant, wrote one of them, too.
Wiggins called Zwicke a man of “impeccable moral character” who works above and beyond the call of duty.
“We are fortunate to have Sheriff Zwicke, who I know I can rely and depend upon,” Wiggins said.
That’s the way it’s been for Lt. Eddie Flores, the commander of the county’s narcotics unit. In his letter, he recognized Zwicke for the attention he’s devoted to fighting drugs in this community.
“I thanked Arnold for bringing the Guadalupe County Sheriff’s Office up to date in the narcotics field,” Flores said. “In my opinion, Arnold has been a boss who is 110 percent dedicated to this field, and I feel he’s given us the tools necessary to go and apply our training in the field to better enforce the narcotics laws.”
But Zwicke has gone way past the usual in his devotion to fighting drugs, Flores said.
“His approach has yielded multiple arrests of ‘sources’ and not just ‘users’ of illegal drugs,” Flores said. “I feel we’ve come a long way since Arnold has been sheriff, and I’ve seen a big change in this agency, and to me he’s had a lot to do with it. I say that because other places I’ve worked for are not as fortunate as this agency. I feel it makes the citizens of Guadalupe County fortunate for having a man like Arnold, who has their safety as his first interest.”
Lt. Kevin Jordan, the county’s lead investigator, has known Zwicke for more than 30 years.
“I think I met him through his older brother, Wayne, who was also a police officer,” Jordan said. “We had businesses in Schertz, and Arnold’s family did business with us.”
Later, after retired Sheriff Melvin Harborth hired Zwicke in 1992, Jordan got to work with him directly — and later for him, after Zwicke became sheriff in his own right following the 2000 election.
“He brings a personal touch to his work and he’s a good leader who stays on an even keel, and I think that filters down through the entire agency,” Jordan said. “He’s dedicated to the community, and he’s professional — and fair.”
Zwicke grew up in the Marion area, and like his older brother, knew he wanted to be a cop.
It would take him a while to get there, though. While still in high school, Zwicke volunteered for the Marion fire department in 1975, and later the New Berlin fire department.
He dedicated a lot of time to the community as he worked in sales and started a family.
Zwicke became a paid firefighter in Seguin in 1978.
“Law enforcement was always my goal, even when I was in the Seguin Fire Department,” Zwicke said.
In 1992, he got work as a dispatcher out at the sheriff’s office, and went to the police academy.
In 1993, Harborth deputized him, and Zwicke, finally doing what he’d always wanted to, saw his career take off from there.
Today, Zwicke can’t imagine work that’s more rewarding.
“If you’re looking to truly make a difference in life by helping people, this would be the job for you,” Zwicke said. “If you want to get rich and not work, this is not for you because you’re not going to get rich, and there’s always plenty of work to do.”
Zwicke said he appreciated what Caddell and his employees had done in nominating him for such a prestigious award.
But he had to thank the employees for something else, he said — their work and dedication in representing his office and the county it serves.
“I want to thank the employees here for the job they do,” Zwicke said. “We’re a team, and this award goes to them as well.”
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