Shawn Reynolds

I'd like to nominate Deputy Shawn Reynolds for Employee of the Month, even though I know he will be unhappy with being put in the spotlight. He can give me the stink-eye all he wants; I believe he deserves it.

For many years, every time I see him, he is busy taking care of one project or another and is often going the extra mile by helping someone with their tasks. He is always willing to stop what he is doing and offer to help someone out when he sees a need. He doesn't have to do this, he has plenty on his plate, but that's who he is. I believe he represents the ideal example of teamwork and cooperation.

He is proactive, finds solutions to issues, and looks for ways to do things more efficiently. He is an example of good judgement and demonstrates great problem-solving and decision-making skills.

Additionally, I have noticed over the years that he is consistently upbeat and positive, often recognizing others' efforts and challenges. He encourages and supports his coworkers. He approaches his job duties and coworkers with an enthusiasm that epitomizes a positive attitude.

Years ago, when he would work in Aspen, he had excellent verbal judo and interpersonal skills to de-escalate, calm down and gain the cooperation of Individuals that were acting out, in crisis, and uncooperative. I witnessed him, on many occasions, standing at someone's cell door, talking them down. It is said that never in the history of someone telling someone else to calm down, has anyone ever calmed down. Shawn is the exception to that adage.

Before and since, but especially during Covid lockdowns he performed admirably dealing with the tough job of finding enough inmate workers. It's hard enough to find enough good workers when we had 1200 inmates, let alone when we were down below 300. That was no small feat.

Lastly, I received this from a coworker, and I believe he deserves some recognition:

"Okay, so I heard from several coworkers about an incident that could have ended in tragedy, however, thanks to Deputy Shawn Reynolds, it ended very differently. Back in August, during the Utah County Fair in Spanish Fork, Deputy Shawn Reynolds was helping direct traffic after a very busy event (rodeo?). A little 3-year-old girl was standing behind a very large truck. Her family was with her, however, had turned their heads for a moment and didn’t realize that the truck was getting ready to back out. Deputy Reynolds saw the truck moving, stopped what he was doing, and started yelling “STOP” as loudly as he could while running over to help with the situation. Thanks to his yelling, the truck owner was able to hear him and quickly stopped his truck. The little girl’s mom then realized what had happened and grabbed her little girl up in her arms while crying and thanking Deputy Reynolds over and over. I believe Deputy Reynolds was truly inspired in this situation."

Many kudos to Shawn all his hard work and great attitude which reflects positively upon the Sheriff's Office and all Utah County Gov't employees.