The City Council meeting room was filled to the doorway with police officers, firefighters and family members eager to congratulate the Mercer Island Police Department’s 2008 Officers of the Year last Friday. The annual ceremony, which acknowledges a number of department awards, ended with applause for Supervisor of the Year Sgt. Marc Marcroft, Support Employee of the Year Kim Druktenis and Officer of the Year Robb Kramp. All three earned respective Officer of the Year awards.

Druktenis received the award for the second year in a row, with only two years working for the department. The department hired Druktenis in May 2007 as its first police support officer. Since that time, she has “helped immensely” in the areas of parking enforcement, leash laws and prisoner transports.

“[Druktenis] worked very hard to develop the PSO program of our department,” said Police Chief Ed Holmes, who presented the award. “She’s a community problem solver. Instead of just issuing the ticket, which is the easy way of doing it, she goes up there, addresses the issue and looks for a solution.”

Before transferring to Mercer Island, Druktenis worked as a correctional officer at the Issaquah Jail for approximately seven years.

Officer Robb Kramp is also relatively new to the MIPD. Joining the force days after his 21st birthday in June 2007, Kramp is the youngest officer on the Island. Yet his age belies his professionalism.

“Kramp has a natural inclination toward the job and a strong willingness to handle difficult assignments,” Holmes said. “He has led our department in arrests, citations, reports and contacts.”

In addition to these positive attributes, Holmes highlighted Kramp’s perfect attendance, “hunger to learn” and excellent attitude.

Asked about receiving the award, which is voted on by MIPD employees, Kramp said that his hard work has paid off.

“This really feels like an honor. It shows that I’ve been able to build a good working relationship in my short time here,” he said.

Sergeant Marcroft, 2008 Supervisor of the Year, is somewhat of a veteran when compared to his fellow awardees, having spent 15 years with the department. He has covered patrol, investigations as a detective, and marine patrol as a unit supervisor. He is currently working as a unit sergeant in investigations.

“Sergeant Marcroft brings a special set of skills to our department,” said Services Commander Leslie Burns. “He is a certified EMT, has been one of our department’s firearms instructors and is one of our most competent and experienced marine patrol operators and divers.”

In addition to the three Officers of the Year, a number of other police were honored. Officers Dave Herzog, Jennifer Franklin and Marine Patrol Assistant Erik Dearth each received a Commander Award. One of the department’s undercover narcotics detectives also earned this honor. Seven sergeants, Steve Hyatt, Marc Marcroft, Keith McDonough, Jim Robarge, Brian Noel, Ryan Parr and Manny Rucker, earned honors for their dedication.

Islander Jason King joined the MIPD spotlight as the winner of this year’s Citizen Award. King, who heads the city’s Emergency Management Program, was recognized for “his strong support of safety on Mercer Island.”

“[King’s] expertise has been invaluable to the success of Mercer Island’s Emergency Management Program. In addition to this, he has also assisted us in numerous public events, including National Night Out and Public Safety Days. He also volunteers his time as one of our civil servant commissioners,” said Holmes.