March 14, 2006

Monroe - Michigan State Police (MSP) Monroe Post commander First Lieutenant Mary A. Kapp was recently recognized by the Monroe County Chamber of Commerce with the 2006 ATHENA Award.

The ATHENA Award recognizes women and men who excel in their chosen field, have donated their time and energy in service to their community and assist women in reaching their full leadership potential.  Kapp was nominated for the award by the Monroe County Habitat for Humanity Coordinator.

Kapp leads by example through her work with Habitat for Humanity, the Monroe County Chamber of Commerce Leadership Monroe Program, Monroe County Relay for Life, Monroe County 911 and Monroe County Chiefs of Police.  She is a member of the Habitat for Humanity of Monroe County Building Committee and served as House Leader for the 2004 and 2005 Habitat Women Builds in which an entire house was built by female volunteers.

Over the holiday season, Kapp led the troopers under her command to volunteer with the Ida Christmas Parade which gave the officers the opportunity to interact with members of the community.  Kapp and Monroe Post troopers also volunteered to team up with Santa to visit Monroe County hospice patients and their families.

Kapp is dedicated to fostering positive relationships between law enforcement and youth.  In January, she participated in the first ever Game Night at the Arthur Lesow Community Center where she played board games with local youth.  In addition, she is assisting Active Balanced Community with the development of the Monroe County Mentors program which will use mentoring to address relationships between minority youth and law enforcement officers as well as programs to give juvenile offenders opportunities to get involved in and give back to the community.

As a member of the MSP for 20 years, Kapp has served as an instructor for four MSP Trooper Recruit Schools and one MSP Motor Carrier Officer Recruit School where she served as a role model for female recruits and challenged them to go beyond their perceived limitations to achieve their goals.  Kapp continues to serve as a resource for women in law enforcement and is often called upon by fellow department members for advice in career and personal decisions.

During the 2005 Major League Baseball All-Star Game and 2006 National Football League Super Bowl, Kapp was assigned as the MSP Incident Command System Service Brach Commander responsible for coordinating and overseeing radio communications for several federal, state, local and Canadian law enforcement agencies, coordinating computer connectivity for MSP operations and serving as the MSP point of contact in the Joint Operations Center.

Kapp joined the MSP in 1986, and graduated as a member of the 100^th Trooper Recruit School.  She has served at the Paw Paw, Detroit and Erie posts, as well as the Investigative Support Section of the East Region Special Investigation Division.  Kapp is a native of Eaton Rapids and was promoted to commander of the Monroe Post in 2003.