Chamber honors outgoing chiefs Dupont, Garner
The Daily Inter Lake
Flathead County Sheriff/Coroner Jim Dupont and Kalispell police Chief Frank Garner were named the 35th annual Great Chiefs by the Kalispell Area Chamber of Commerce at its awards banquet Thursday.
A sellout crowd of 475 people attended the event at the Red Lion Hotel Kalispell.
The law-enforcement officials, both of whom are retiring at the end of the year, have a combined 50 years of community service.
Dupont is one of Flathead County's longest-serving sheriffs, having been elected for four terms. In addition to law enforcement, he has held a number of volunteer positions.
He is president of the Western States Sheriffs' Association, which he helped organize. He is past president of the Montana Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association, past president of the Flathead County Employee Association and is a member of the Attorney General's and Secretary of Agriculture's law enforcement advisory boards. He is also actively involved with Rotary Club, Big Brothers Big Sisters and the Montana Special Olympics.
Dupont was president of the Bigfork Quick Response Unit for two years and volunteered with the group for 10 years. He was the first to organize the unit and obtained its first ambulance license. He was also a volunteer emergency medical technician for ALERT for seven years.
He served three years in the Keep Kids in School mentor program. He was an instructor for the Kalispell Ski Club's "Learn to Ski" program for 10 years.
The American Red Cross gave Dupont the National Life Saving Award, and he has been dubbed Deputy of the Year by the Lions Club, the Violence Free Crisis Line and the Montana Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association.
In his 21 years with the Kalispell Police Department, Garner has received a number of special awards.
In 1987, he was named Patrol Officer of the Year for his drug-prevention work. He was awarded the Meritorius Service Medal in 1992 for his work as a drug investigator. Garner has served as police chief since 1998.
Garner has been a member of the Evergreen Lions Club even longer than he's been a police officer. He joined the group in 1980 and twice has served as president.
This year he served as Rotary International's president-elect and was chairman of the club's blood drive. Garner was an athletic advisory council member with the Elks Fraternal Order from 1986 until 1991.
Garner has also been active in serving the valley's youths.
He is a past president and board member for Big Brothers Big Sisters, has served as board president of Flathead CARE and is active with the Montana Special Olympics. He has coached teams in numerous sports and, working on his own and in conjunction with the Lions Club, helped build the new playing fields in Evergreen.
He and Dupont have participated in the Penguin Plunge to raise money for the Montana Special Olympics. They've also been targets in the dunking booth at the Northwest Montana Fair to raise money for Big Brothers Big Sisters.
In honor of their many contributions to the Flathead community, Garner and Dupont were each presented with a numbered bronze bust, "Chief Two Guns White Calf," created by artist Ace Powell.