Granger: Above & Beyond The Call Of Duty

Sometimes the best employees are the ones who pay attention to the smaller details and go just a little above their job description. Those employees often leave lasting impressions on the employers and on the business. A local Glasgow resident and hard worker was recognized for all her efforts.

Kathy Granger took the administrative assistant position in 2010. In her four years at the Glasgow Police Department, she’s made a pretty big impression.

Police Chief Bruce Barstad sent a letter to the MTLEIRA (Montana Law Enforcement Information Records Association) that touched Granger to tears as they read the letter to the crowd on Tuesday, May 6, in Great Falls. His letter and nomination for the Above and Beyond Award made a fairly big impression as Granger was one of two recipients in the state.

Granger would have attended the MTLEIRA conference in Great Falls for the week, but her recent injury prevented her for going. That’s when Barstad called her and let her know that she would be receiving the award at the banquet. Lori Kennedy drove Granger to Great Falls for the evening so she could accept the award. Granger explained that she was allowed to say a few words, and those words were thanking her driver and her coworkers.

“When they read the letter, I was touched,” Granger said. “I got tears in my eyes.”

Granger said that she also contributes a lot of her skills to her late mentor, Sherri Turner, who worked with her at the courthouse and taught her a lot of the job. The organization is a statewide group that those who work in records and administration are a part of. The conference was part of a training session to help keep skills sharp.

Granger said her job at the police department is like no other. She takes phone calls, answers doors, checks emails, all while taking care of finances, records and other paperwork required. Barstad’s letter explained that Granger is one of the most efficient, organized and productive employees of the Glasgow Police Department.

“Kathy is nothing short (no pun intended) of a true professional,” Barstad wrote. “She is intelligent, compassionate, enthusiastic and a strong leader in our agency.”

He mentioned that in the last four years she has helped the police department receive grants totaling $1.2 million. Some grants include money for the Northeast Montana Violent Crime Unit, the misdemeanor probation officer and the victim/witness specialist. She’s also helped the fire department, the city library and the city find funding.