State of Iowa Mentor Timothy Felton Awarded the “D.A.R.E. Iowa Terry Dehmlow Lifetime Achievement Award”

“Tim Felton joined the law enforcement community in 1976 and became a D.A.R.E. Officer in 1991, serving in that capacity until his retirement from the Winneshiek County Sheriff’s Office in 2018. Tim Felton was nominated and honored as the Iowa D.A.R.E. Officer of the Year in 2005 and became the Iowa D.A.R.E. Association President for 2008. Tim Felton’s D.A.R.E. conference was the first conference that I attended as a newly trained D.A.R.E. Instructor. It was something I was hesitant to attend because I had very young children at home and I didn’t want my wife busy with work, the kids, and the house while I attended training. Needless to say, I haven’t missed a D.A.R.E. Conference since he had his and I bring my family with me.

“Tim really loves D.A.R.E. and believes in its message and the positive influence that officers have on kids when we are in the school system. I have heard countless stories from friends that have been out socially with Tim: his old students recognize and remember him, making sure to come up and talk with him. These things haven’t just happened locally; it has been state-wide. Because of Tim’s Love for D.A.R.E., he became a D.A.R.E. Mentor in 2011. He wanted to give back to the program and help to train other officers to be the best they can be in the classrooms. Tim would use vacation to attend mentor officer training and continues to this day to be a D.A.R.E. Mentor. He returned from the most recent DOT training in May of 2022.”

Nomination was written and submitted by: Officer Rick LaGue, D.A.R.E. Officer, Osage (IA) Police Dept.