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Colonel Eric T. Olson, superintendent of the Missouri State Highway Patrol, has announced the retirement of Capt. Norman A. Murphy, assistant bureau commander of the Field Operations Bureau, General Headquarters, Jefferson City. He retired Aug. 1 after 35 years of service.

Murphy was born and raised in Kirkwood and graduated from Kirkwood High School in 1981. He graduated from the University of Central Missouri in 1986 with a bachelor of science in criminal justice administration. Murphy was appointed to the patrol’s 59th Recruit Class in 1987.

Upon his graduation from the patrol’s Law Enforcement Academy, three generations of the same family would serve as state troopers for the first time in the agency’s history. He is the grandson of the late Lt. L.

Lloyd Murphy (1941-72) and the nephew of retired Sgt. Wayne A. Murphy (1958-89).

Upon graduation, he was assigned to Troop C, Zone 5, Lincoln and Pike counties, where he would be promoted to the ranks of corporal and sergeant. In 2011, he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant and was assigned to Troop C, Weldon Spring. In 2013, he was promoted to the rank of captain and designated the commander of the gaming division. In 2015, Murphy transferred to the field operations bureau and was designated assistant bureau commander. It is from this assignment he retires.

As assistant bureau commander for field operations bureau, Murphy had direct oversight of troop-related operations and special events. He served as the officerin-charge of the patrol’s governor inauguration details in 2017 and 2021, the presidential inauguration in 2021, and the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio, in 2016. Murphy also served on numerous special details throughout his career. In 2004, Murphy was named Troy, Missouri, Chamber of Commerce Man of the Year. He accepted the 2005 The MASTERS Public Service Award.

Murphy is the father of three children: Brian, who is currently attending University of Kansas Medical School; Ashley, who recently graduated from the University of Oklahoma College of Law, and Tara, who is attending Murray State University in Kentucky.

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Colonel Eric T. Olson, superintendent of the Missouri State Highway Patrol, announces the promotion of Capt. Benjamin C. Jones, Q/RCOD, to the rank of major. He is the commander of the support services bureau effective July 1. Jones will have direct oversight of the commercial vehicle enforcement, driver and vehicle safety, and recruiting and community outreach divisions.

Jones was appointed to the patrol on Jan. 16, 2001, as a member of the 78th Recruit Class. Upon graduation from the Law Enforcement Academy, he was assigned to Troop E, Zone 8/Zone 9 New Madrid and Pemiscot counties. On Oct. 24, 2007, he transferred to Troop E, Zone 14, as a commercial vehicle enforcement trooper. He was promoted to corporal on Oct. 1, 2010, and sergeant on Sept. 1, 2014, and remained in his position as a commercial vehicle enforcement trooper. On Oct. 1, 2016, Jones was promoted to lieutenant, transferred to the career recruitment division at General Headquarters in Jefferson City. He was designated assistant director of the division. In July 2018, he was promoted to captain and designated director of the career recruitment division. Effective April 1, 2019, the Career Recruitment Division and Office of Community Engagement and Outreach merged. Jones was designated community outreach officer and named director of the new Recruiting and Community Outreach Division.

Jones grew up in Clarkton, where he graduated from high school in 1991. He attended Southeast Missouri State University in Cape Girardeau. In 2016, he graduated from the Police Leadership-West Point Model training. He graduated from Northwestern University School of Police Staff and Command as a member of Class 419 in 2017. Jones and his wife, Selene (Torress), have two children, Brianna and Benjamin.

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Jenidean Readey is the Office of State Courts Administrator July MVP. She excels at working with team members and monitoring tools to investigate issues in real-time, discovering the root cause of any issue. She identifies a course of action to resolve the issue and coordinates the response across various teams and court partners until the issue resolution is verified. She takes pride in providing outstanding service to the people whom she interacts with and is an asset to OSCA, according to her nomination for the award.

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The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services is honoring Kyle Wilde as July Employee of the Month. Wilde, of Jefferson City, has been employed with the state for nearly 10 years.

Wilde is an administrative manager with the Bureau of General Services within the Division of Administration. He is described as a team player focused on common-sense approaches, as well as demonstrating a strong “can do” characteristic recognized by his nominators.

Wilde has served as the assistant bureau chief of general services since March 2021. He has served the state in various capacities of facilities management and procurement since 2013.

In his free time, Wilde trains and mentors aspiring athletes. He enjoys spending time with his children, traveling, hiking and cooking on his grill for family and friends.

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The Missouri Highway Patrol has promoted Lt. Jason M. Pace, assistant director of the Recruiting and Community Outreach Division at General Headquarters in Jefferson City, to captain and director of that division.

Pace was appointed to the patrol on July 1, 1997, as a member of the 74th recruit class. After completing his training at the patrol’s Law Enforcement Academy, he was assigned to Troop I, Laclede County. In January 2001, he transferred to Troop D, Springfield, Zone 1, Greene County. In 2004, Pace was assigned as a full-time recruiter with responsibilities covering four troops. In 2005, Pace was promoted to corporal. On Dec. 1, 2008, Pace was promoted to sergeant and remained a full-time recruiter. Pace was designated as a public information and education officer assigned to Troop D on May 1, 2011. On June 1, 2019, he was promoted to lieutenant and named assistant director of the Recruiting and Community Outreach Division.

Pace was born in Rolla and graduated from Houston High School in 1989. He attended Harding University in Searcy, Arkansas, and graduated with a bachelor of business administration in 1993. In 1995, he earned a master of public administration from Missouri State University. He graduated from Leadership in Police Organizations training in Jefferson City in 2015. Pace is married with three children and one grandchild.

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Brittany Fennewald, program specialist with the School Improvement section of the Office of Quality Schools, was chosen by a panel of her peers as the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education’s Employee of the Month for August. She has worked with DESE since March 2021, after having been with the state Department of Revenue for the previous three years.

“It is an honor to be nominated by such an amazing group of people,” Fennewald said. “I’m dedicated to my job and work really hard. It feels good to be seen and appreciated for that.”

Fennewald edits web pages, assists with the preparation of State Board materials and administrative memos, assists the state’s Area Supervisors of Instruction, proofreads and edits documents, and maintains information about school administrators. The breadth of tasks is the most challenging part of her duties, according to Fennewald.

“Brittany is a team player and is always willing to offer assistance,” wrote Margie Hagenhoff, executive assistant for the Office of Quality Schools, who nominated Fennewald.

Raised in Eugene, Fennewald currently lives in Osage Bend, where she and her husband enjoy watching their son learn and grow, as well as spending time outdoors with family and friends.

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2022-08-07T07:00:00.0000000Z

2022-08-07T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://edition.newstribune.com/article/281711208417293

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