King County Sheriff’s Deputy Kyle Riches was named Deputy of the Year for 2016.
Riches is assigned to the city of Covington.
“He is one of the most experienced trainers in the Sheriff’s Office,” according to a Facebook post on the city of Covington’s page.
During his career, the post continued, he has trained nearly 100 recruits including seven last year.
“Riches always has a positive attitude and exhibits a high level of commitment, professionalism, competence and leadership,” Covington Police Chief Andrew McCurdy said.
One of his recruits even told McCurdy that he can see the “profound impact” Riches has on the department and the way he trains his recruits.
Along with Riches, Administrative Specialist Micki Christensen was selected as the Professional Support Employee of the Year.
She works out of the Maple Valley precinct. She is likely to greet you when you go to the public lobby at Precinct 3.
“She is very friendly and helpful,” McCurdy said. “And (she) always goes out of her way to make sure she is providing the best possible service to our customers.”
The Facebook post said “she is an invaluable member of the Sheriff’s Office.”
McCurdy added that she is very behind the scenes, making sure the precinct and deputies are taken care of, so they can focus on doing their jobs.
Christensen is responsible for working closely with the public and deputies to arrange community meetings and organize appearances at local National Night Out events.
She also helped design and dedicate the memorial to fallen deputies, the post continued.
King County Sheriff John Urquhart had nothing but praise to say about both Riches and Christensen. “South King County is extremely lucky to have both of these public servants working in their community.”
And King County Councilmember Reagan Dunn congratulated them on their achievements.
“Their service exemplifies the high level of professionalism the King County Sheriff’s Office provides to the residents of unincorporated King County and contracted cities like Covington and Maple Valley,” Dunn said.
