The Best of the Best: There are a lot of quality peopleworking in the law division ofthe
ODWC. Of those, nominations Finally, a subcommittee carefully reviews those anonymous submissions and makes a final selection of the top two. Law division heads then retrieve their magnifying lens from a desk drawer and pick one from those two. This year's best of the best: SGW Brek Henry of Rogers County in District One. This ten year veteran began his wildlife career in the Oklahoma, Logan, and Lincoln County area living in Luther and now calls Claremore home for his wife and two kids. Brek is a graduate of Gore High School and attended Connors State in Warner and NSU in Tahlequah. Before becoming a Game Warden he was a police officer for Muskogee where he gained some valuable undercover experience. He probably got some guidance and encouragement from his brother Jerry, SGW Sequoyah County, who preceded him into our ranks. Needless to say hunting and fishing are at the top of Brek's activity list but his favorite thing might be NASCAR, an event he has attended eight years in a row. Brek's comments to other young men who dream of a career in wildlife law: "I've known I wanted to a Game Warden for a long time. When I was in Junior High we had a career day at our school and we were supposed to dress up like who we wanted to be when we got out of school. I borrowed a Game Warden shirt (Game Ranger at that time) from a family friend the late Jerry Cole. I wore it to school on career day. I stuck with a plan and worked hard and my career dream finally came true. I haven't been disappointed. The job has been everything I thought it would be. Just the chance to be outdoors and not in an office all day is a huge reward." "The other big thing for me and in being a Game Warden is believing in what you do. I feel like the job a Game Warden does is crucial for wildlife. Like our association ads say, `No Wardens - No Wildlife." I am concerned, however that we (Wardens) get very little credit for the important role we play in protecting wildlife. This award was an honor to receive but I would easily trade it for more recognition for all wardens and the work we do every day. Programs, hunter education classes, phone calls both day and night, poaching investigations, delivering the ODWC's regulations and everything else Wardens do seems to go virtually unnoticed except by a handful of people. With that all said, it was the right career choice for me because I do love what I do and I know it is an important job."
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Wildlife Law Enforcement in Action |
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2004-2005 The Oklahoma State Game Warden Association |