THE FOLLOWING IS A DANVILLE NOON ROTARY RELEASE
ABOVE: Illinois State Police Master Sergeant Jennifer Smit and Rotary President Tonya Hill
The Danville Noon Rotary is pleased to announce that Illinois State Police Master Sergeant Jennifer Smit has been named the winner of the 2024 Vocational Service Award.
After earning her master’s degree in education, Jennifer served as a seventh-grade science teacher for nearly three years at North Ridge Middle School in Danville. In 2014, her career shifted when she accepted the call to serve the citizens of Danville as a police officer. She took the compassion that she developed for her students as a middle school teacher to the streets and was able to assist some of Danville’s neediest citizens. She has helped to steer struggling high school students away from violent behaviors toward completing their education. It was not uncommon for her to purchase meals for individuals being held in custody or find her shooting hoops with young people in Garfield Park.
Jennifer has also shown dedication to her community by assisting the DACC Foundation with scholarships and supports the Women’s Survivor Resource Center in their annual fundraising “Walk a Mile in Her Shoes” event. After three years on the Danville Police Department, she earned a position as an Illinois State Trooper where she quickly rose to the rank of sergeant within five years. In 2024, she was promoted to Master Sergeant. She has been commended by her superiors as taking her oath very seriously, donating hours of her own time if it was required to complete a task. She has a passion for investigating and building strong cases against sexual predators. She is a wealth of knowledge for her law enforcement peers on case information and serves as an Academy instructor in several fields. In April of 2024, Jennifer, along with four other ISP personnel, traveled to Accra, Ghana to conduct Domestic and Gender Based Violence Investigation training. Being a specialist in this field, she did not hesitate to be part of helping other nations combat domestic violence, sexual assault, and human trafficking.
The Vocational Service Award is presented every year to an individual in the community who exemplifies the Rotary ideals of service. “In her role as police officer, state trooper and sergeant, Jennifer has demonstrated a caring commitment to the community that is second to none. She is a true testament to Rotary values in promoting integrity, advanced world understanding, good will and peace and is much deserving of this recognition” stated Rotary President Tonya Hill. Jennifer resides in Westville, IL with her husband Jonathan and her 3 fur babies, Bodie, Dewey and Wrigley. The award will be presented on December 2, 2024 at 12:00 pm at St. James Church, Danville, IL 61832 . Please RSVP to t.hill@dacc.edu by November 25, 2024 if you would like to attend.
ILLINOIS HOUSE PRESENTATION FOR JENNIFER SMIT by STATE REP SCHWEIZER
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