Local hero: Mullin wins state award

SIKESTON — A Sikeston Department Public Safety school resource officer has won a statewide award recognizing him as local government hero.

Brent Mullin, who has worked at Sikeston DPS for the past 13 years and as a school resource officer for the City of Sikeston the past two years, was announced the winner of LAGERS’ first Local Government Hero Award during LAGERS’ annual meeting Thursday in Springfield. He was one of three statewide finalists to be recognized and considered for the award.

LAGERS is a non-profit, public pension system created to provide retirement, disability and survivors’ benefits to members and beneficiaries in the most economical and efficient manner possible.

“Brent Mullin is a police officer, but he is more than just a cop on the street,” said a LAGERS official during Thursday’s meeting before presenting a video of Mullin. “In addition to fighting crime in the city of Sikeston, they’ve used his role as a liaison between the community and police department. His interaction with kids in Sikeston is a way to encourage them to stay on the right path. He also started a food pantry at a Sikeston elementary school in 2016 that has already helped thousands of kids in the city of Sikeston.”

As a school resource officer, Mullin visits all the schools in the Sikeston R-6 School District. A video interviewing Mullin as a finalist for the award was presented at the meeting. In the video, Mullin is seen at the Bulldog Pantry.

“That’s the best job I’ve had so far. I’ve done a couple different jobs in the department, and being a school resource officer is very rewarding. If I retired today, I don’t know what other job I would do other than being a police officer doing what I do now,” he said.

The Bulldog Pantry started with just a little shelf of odds and ends and food and has grown into any and every item one can think of, Mullin said.

“It’s all donations we ask the public for. We say we need this item, and our community has backed it tremendously,” Mullin said.

The pantry has physically grown into two big sheds full of nonperishable items, he noted in the video.

“Anything a kid would need, we have here, “Mullin said from inside the pantry. “Kids come in and shop however often they need to. There are no requirements for them, it’s just if a teacher sees they have need or someone sees a need.”

Mullin provided an example of the pantry’s impact on local children.

“There was a little girl who was horrible at school, bad attitude, and we finally, got her into the pantry and now she’s a straight A student and does’t have any discipline issues. They found out she was just hungry, and now she just thrives at being a good kid.”

Mullin said he’d like to see a Bulldog Pantry at every school so that every school building has everything they need.

Nominees for the award were submitted across the state by co-workers of the recipients that embody the values and dedication it takes to be the best in their fields, outworking as a public servant every day to make our communities better, according to LAGERS.

Prior to presenting Mullin with the award on Thursday, a LAGERS official told Mullin the LAGERS staff was so inspired by the work that Mullin is doing with the pantry, they collected a $1,000 donation for the Bulldog Pantry.

“I have two awesome jobs I get to perform,” Mullin said in his acceptance speech Thursday. “One is being an SRO, and one is being a partner with Lynne DeWitt who helps me with the pantry. My chief, James McMillen, has always allowed me time off (work) before I started working as an SRO to do anything I wanted to do with the pantry.”

During the 2016-2017 school year, Mullin said he and DeWitt started counting the number of students they were servicing, and that year they served 3,612 students. The next year, they served 7,992 and last year, they served 12,365 students. So far to date this school year, the Pantry has served 3,308 children.

“I would like to thank Lynne DeWitt for being the best partner and the love Sikeston has poured into the Pantry,” Mullin said. “Without the tremendous help of our community, we would not be able to serve over 27,200 children in the 3-1/2 years we’ve had it running.”

Two area school districts who have wanted help in starting a pantry have sought out Mullin and DeWitt to help start their own pantries, Mullin said.

“We have truly been blessed, and, hopefully, the blessings these kids are receiving, they will pay it forward later in their lives,” Mullin said in his acceptance speech. “Thank you, all.”

For videos and photos from the ceremony, visit Missouri LAGERS official Facebook page: “Missouri Local Government Employees Retirement System.”