- May 19, 2024
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Shannon Champion takes her job title seriously.
She's a community service officer with the Ormond Beach Police Department, and she places emphasis on "community." Sure, her job entails virtually everything and anything between helping people stranded on the road to animal investigations in the city, but whatever she's doing, she aims to do the right thing — whether or not she gets thanked for it.
"I think that in life, you should find a meaningful purpose for your life," Champion said. "And you should commit to it with your full heart, and it doesn't mean it's always going to be perfect. ... Whether it be with animals, whether it be with community, you have to do it and not expect to get anything in return."
In law enforcement, you see a lot of good take place, she added. You also see a lot of ugly things happen. And while she can't control what kind of interactions she will have that day, Champion said she can control how she reacts.
"I always hope that what I do, whether it be positive, whether it be a negative interaction, I want it to turn into something positive," Champion said. "I want it to be lasting. I want people to remember it."
Champion has worked for OBPD for 23 years. Prior to becoming a CSO, she worked as a supervisor for the Halifax Humane Society, but as she witnessed firsthand the issues with lost and abandoned animals in the community, she decided she wanted to find a way to be proactive instead of reactive.
"Then I saw the position here as a community service officer, and I was like, 'What is that?'" Champion recalled.
She had grown up with first responders as parents. Her mother had been a law enforcement officer, and her father was a firefighter. The position intrigued her.
Officers with OBPD's animal and community services division are not sworn law enforcement, but they are authorized to write citations for violations of the city's code regarding animals. They collect stray pets, investigate animal complaints, bite incidents and cruelty cases, as well as relocate wildlife that neighbors may deem a nuisance.
"Shannon has been with OBPD for almost 23 years and goes above her normal work duties most every day. She helps citizens who have fallen on hard times by ensuring they are able to feed and care for their pets. Shannon implemented a TNR program within the city.
"She actively participates in shopping, set-up, break down, cooking, cleaning for special events at the PD including hurricanes, promotional ceremonies and holiday luncheons, etc. You only have to ask her 1 time to assist and she never hesitates to lend a helping hand and for these reasons and more she deserves this nomination."
Sandy Smith, OBPD office manager
They also help with traffic control during crashes and events, process prisoners, write found property reports and other ancillary duties for the department.
Champion thought the job sounded pretty neat.
"I thought to myself, 'I can now be ... proactive, instead of reactive,'" she said. "Because we are getting animals on a constant basis, whether it be from them running at large, whether it be surrenders, whether it be just wild animals that you need to foster."
She tries not to foster. She's a "foster failure" — Champion tends to keep them. There's a few other "foster fails" that have taken place at OBPD.
"I can't tell you how many people here have animals that we found and they fostered for us," Champion said.
In 2002, Champion became a supervisor within the division. About 17 years ago, she implemented a Trap, Neuter, Release program in the city, based off the one in Maricopa County, Arizona.
At first, the TNR program didn't go very well in Ormond Beach, she recalled. People who complained about the feral cats in their yards didn't want the cats returned after being neutered, but being feral, the cats also weren't typically able to be adopted.
Champion said people's attitudes changed thanks to Concerned Citizens for Animal Welfare, a local nonprofit that really pushed other cities in the years following to implement TNR programs.
"Over the past, really 10 years, it's like, 'Boom,'" she said. "We have a track list and it's always full."
Champion also helps animals by providing their owners in need with food. It's not technically in her job description, but Champion would disagree with that.
"To me, it is my job," she said. "It's just not a written thing."
Around the time she started working as a CSO, Champion began thinking about her career path. She became interested in the evidence department, and when OBPD's evidence tech died in 2006, she switched to that division. She worked there for four years, and found that she didn't have the same satisfaction as she had working in community services.
"It was great, but it just didn't fit," Champion said.
So she became a CSO again. And helping the community is still the most rewarding part for her, she said.
"If you can help somebody and it's monetary, it's great," she said. "If you can help somebody just by being kind or having kind words, or just speaking with them, or educating them — that you're giving back too. And you just hope it makes a lasting effect.
