Deputy Bennett Van Horn Presented with Joanne Chauncey Educational Award

On July 23, 2021, Deputy Bennett Van Horn, from the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office, was presented with the Joanne Chauncey Educational Award during the the 85th D.A.R.E. Officer Training culmination ceremony in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The selection of Deputy Van Horn was a unanimous decision of the entire DARE officer training staff.

The Joanne Chauncey Educational Award was established by the Florida DARE training staff in memory of the first educational advisor assigned to Florida D.A.R.E. Joanne Chauncey was inspirational in assisting with curriculum development and the implementation of training used by law enforcement officers, with a focus on helping them to understand the different learning modalities present in a classroom setting. Joanne Chauncey, through training, also emphasized the importance of classroom management by teaching officers about brain-based learning through elementary curriculum and lesson preparation. Shortly after retiring from education, Joanne Chauncey passed away. Her dedication to educating children and preparing officers for the classroom is memorialized by the Florida D.A.R.E. training staff with the implementation of the Joanne Chauncey Educational Excellence Award.

Deputy Van Horn demonstrated his teaching abilities through prepared lesson presentation. Deputy Van Horn reinforced his leadership strengths both to his own team and to all D.A.R.E. officers in attendance by adapting to new unprepared curriculum and soliciting feedback from students all while maintaining a structured classroom environment. It was an honor for the Florida D.A.R.E. training staff to present Deputy Van Horn with the Joanne Chauncey Award for Educational Excellence. With continued preparation and increased classroom experience, Deputy Van Horn will undoubtedly be an asset to the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office D.A.R.E. program.