The Southwestern Illinois Law Enforcement Commission (SILEC) and the Southern Illinois Police Chief’s Association (SIPCA) selected Southern Illinois University Edwardsville’s Adam Severit for its “Blue Light Award” at the group’s annual awards banquet Wednesday, Jan. 20.
The annual event recognizes outstanding leaders, officers, correction officers, telecommunicators and citizens in Southwestern Illinois. The board of directors for both entities decides the winners in 11 categories.
The award recognizes full time employees, who serve as the backbone of their agency. They are the “go to” employees who serve as role models for others. Recipients demonstrate the virtues of law enforcement Code of Ethics. They must display loyalty, dependability, and be a person of high moral and ethical standards.
“It’s people like Sgt. Severit, who report for duty everyday with the same passion he started with almost 15 years ago, that make my job so enjoyable,” said Kevin Schmoll, SIUE Chief of Police. “His work ethic, genuine concern for others, and his high moral and ethical standards make everyone around him better. With Adam, it’s not about accolades or awards. It’s about doing the right thing all the time.”
Severit, a detective sergeant in the SIUE Police Department, is a 14-year veteran of the force. During his 13 years as a patrol officer, he also served the Metro East Auto Theft Task Force (MEATTF) for six of those years. While in the MEATTF, he received SILEC’s 2005 certificate of merit award for saving a mentally handicapped female from a sexual assault.
Severit has been a field-training officer, a member of both the Major Case Squad and the Child Death Investigation Task Force, and has responsibility for the SIUE Investigations Unit’s evidence vault.
Prior to his law enforcement career, Severit served in the U.S. Army’s 82nd Airborne as a paratrooper and earned a Ranger tab. He has brought those skills and life lessons to SIUE’s department and leads his fellow officers by example, proving hard work and a good attitude determine your success in life.
Photo: SIUE Police Sgt. Adam Severit and Chief of Police Kevin Schmoll attended the banquet where Severit was presented the “Blue Light Award.”