Kellner named District 7 Conservation Officer of the Year
Indiana Conservation Officers of District Seven announced Master Officer Mike Kellner was selected as the District Seven officer of the year.
District Seven includes ten southwestern counties in Indiana. Officer Kellner is assigned to Warrick and Vanderburgh Counties and has served southwestern Indiana for over thirty years.
Kellner was born in Valparaiso and grew up in Jackson County. He graduated with a degree in Education from Indiana University and was hired as an Indiana Conservation Officer in 1983.
His initial county assignment was Posey County. He was later assigned to Warrick and Vanderburgh counties where he has lived and served since 1985. Mike is married to Sue Kellner and has two sons, Ethan and Jacob.
Kellner has been a Public Information Officer (PIO) for the Department since the PIO program’s inception in the early 1990s. His duties have included speaking with the media, writing news releases, managing district social media accounts, overseeing recruiting events and consoling families who have lost loved ones.
Kellner has organized and taught numerous Hunter Education and Boater Education Courses in local schools including Tecumseh and Boonville Jr. High. Through these school programs alone Mike reaches over 450 students per year.
Kellner’s is receiving the reward in the sunset of his career with the state as he will be retiring December 31.
“He has been a wonderful asset to our Department and we are losing a seasoned Officer, a wealth of knowledge and a valuable resource,” Lieutenant Duane Englert said about Kellner. “He is a great officer but more importantly he is a great person.”
The district Officer of the Year award is an award selected by the officers of the district and speaks volumes of how well Mike is liked and respected by his peers.
Being selected as the District Officer of the Year qualifies Kellner for the Pitzer Award. This award is given out annually to the top officer in the state and is named after James D. Pitzer, who was shot and killed in the line of duty while checking rabbit hunters on January 1st 1961.
