CONTACT: Beth Kaplan, (608) 266-1683

SAND RIDGE SECURE TREATMENT CENTER DIRECTORS RECEIVE PATRIOT AWARD

Directors Honored by Department of Defense for Extraordinary Support of Wisconsin National Guard and Reserve Members

MAUSTON—Two directors at Sand Ridge Secure Treatment Center, Facility Director Deborah McCulloch and Security Director Steve Schneider, were presented with Patriot Awards by the Department of Defense in recognition of extraordinary support for two of their employees who serve in the Wisconsin National Guard and Reserve.

The directors were nominated by Kurt K. Southworth, a training officer at Sand Ridge and a Major in the Wisconsin National Guard assigned to the 1st Battalion/147th Aviation Regiment and Michael Murphy, a Unit Manager at Sand Ridge who is also a Lieutenant Colonel in the Wisconsin National Guard assigned to Joint Force Headquarters.

"On behalf of everyone who works at Sand Ridge and our previous administrators, I want to thank our colleagues, Kurt Southworth and Mike Murphy and their families for bestowing this award on the employer," said Deborah McCulloch, "It is with utmost humility and honor that the administration and staff at Sand Ridge have supported our colleagues who are committed to defending our country and who are placed in harm's way during time of war and in training and preparing soldiers."

The Patriot Award was created by the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR), an agency of the Department of Defense, to publicly recognize employers and individuals who support a strong National Guard Reserve Force. Employers qualify for recognition when they practice leadership and personnel policies that support employee participation in the Guard and Reserve.

"We are proud to have supported all Sand Ridge staff, and their families, who have honorably served in the Guard and Reserve. We are grateful for their safe return to their families and we are happy and humbled to be back working with them, side by side," McCulloch added.

Sand Ridge is a secure treatment facility in Mauston, Wisconsin that provides specialized treatment services for persons committed under Wisconsin's sexually violent persons law, Chapter 980, Wisconsin Statutes.

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Last Revised:  May 03, 2013