U.S. Attorney Gives Hometown Hero Award to Benzie County Deputy

Deputy Matt McKinley recognized for his work with "McKinley's Kids"

GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN - U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan Timothy VerHey today announced that the Justice Department gave its Hometown Hero Award to Benzie County Deputy Sheriff Matt McKinley. The award ceremony was held at Benzie Central High School in Benzonia, Michigan and attended by the students, friends and family of Deputy McKinley, the school's Student Resource Officer and area law enforcement.

The Hometown Hero Award is part of the Freedom 250 celebration, marking the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States. At the request of the White House, the United States Attorney's Offices in each of the 93 districts were asked to present the award to honor an outstanding member of its law enforcement community - a true "hometown hero" - during the week leading up to Memorial Day. Only 93 people nationwide were selected to receive this award, and Deputy McKinley is one of only two people in Michigan to receive it.

Deputy McKinley was selected from a large number of nominees submitted from all over the Western District of Michigan. All the nominees were worthy, but Deputy McKinley was selected because of his work with underprivileged kids in Benzie County, where he serves as the student resource officer for the Benzie County School system. Although McKinley's job was formally limited to student safety, he soon saw other ways he could help the students under his care. For example, when he saw that some students did not appear to have enough to eat, McKinley set up an in-school food pantry where hungry students can get a healthy snack. When he learned that some students suffered over having to attend school with tattered or dirty clothes, he organized a community-wide effort to stock new clothing. These aid efforts, now affectionately known as "McKinley's Kids" drives, have brought the Benzie County community together.

U.S. Attorney Timothy VerHey said, "Deputy McKinley deserves this award because he is a great example of what it means to be an American. When he sees a problem he can fix, he rolls up his sleeves and sets out to fix it rather than waiting for someone else to do it. And when his neighbors saw his idea, they enthusiastically pitched in. People like him make the rest of us proud to be Americans and make us want to do our part too. Our great country turns 250 this year; as long as there are people like Matt McKinley out there, the next 250 years are going to be the best yet."