Two Southlake school resource officers (SROs) recently won awards at the ninth annual Drug and Violence Prevention Training Conference in Orlando, Florida.
Committed to creating a safer and healthier learning environment, Law Enforcement Against Drugs & Violence (L.E.A.D.) is a national nonprofit that works with communities to help students understand the dangers of drugs and violence. Stationed at Walnut Grove Elementary, Kimberly Smith was awarded “Texas Instructor of the Year” for her excellent work educating students on the L.E.A.D. curriculum. Meanwhile, retired SRO Matt Petrie was awarded “L.E.A.D.er of the Year” for his work on training future instructors across the country.
“The awards given to SRO Smith and Mr. Petrie are well deserved. We congratulate them on their outstanding work helping to protect students from the dangers of drugs and violence and expand the network of people who are trained to teach our curriculum,” L.E.A.D. CEO Nick DeMauro says. “Their dedication towards emphasizing the importance of drug and violence prevention is helping us to continue accomplishing our goal of advancing police-community relationships.”