Two members of the State Highway Patrol, Lt. Jeff Gordon and Trooper Chris Matos, were honored Nov. 17 at the Governor’s Awards of Excellence ceremony.
Lt. Gordon received his award in the category of Efficiency and Innovation for using the Highway Patrol’s driving simulator to teach teens about distracted driving. Trooper Matos received his award in the category of Safety and Heroism for rescuing a mother and her two children from a frigid creek when their car slid off an icy road.
Gordon and Matos were among 15 recipients of the Governor’s Awards for Excellence and were selected from more than 80 nominations.
“The awards represent the highest honor that a state employee can receive for dedicated service,” keynote speaker and Dept. of Public Safety Secretary Frank Perry said. “There is something different about these people we recognize today, and it has to do with others. You don’t have to look far to find extraordinary contributions from ordinary individuals who have answered the call for public service.”
Lt. Gordon
Statistics show teens are involved in three times as many fatal crashes as all other drivers and to help reduce those numbers, Lt. Gordon suggested the Patrol offer its driving simulator to high schools. He had discovered that the simulator could be programmed with driving scenarios geared to students that would heighten their sense of the importance of paying attention while driving. The various driving scenarios safely demonstrate the dangers of texting and other distractions while driving.
Funds were needed to tow the simulator to schools across the state, and Lt. Gordon worked with State Farm Insurance in securing the amount needed to buy a truck. The simulator is making a big impression on teens who see how dangerous it is to be distracted while driving.
“He is very passionate about what he does,” said Lt. Col. Billy Clayton. “He understands the importance of saving lives and the families that are attached to these lives.”
Lt. Gordon remembers his first time going to the scene of a fatality. A 16-year-old girl was covered in a white sheet, and he had to give the dreaded knock on the door to let her parents know she had died. He said the memory of that day has stuck with him throughout his 22-year career.
As spokesperson, Lt. Gordon is committed to his job, taking calls from news reporters not only during work hours, but all times during the evening and early morning hours. The calls are numerous and can be time consuming as he gathers information on accidents or incidents. Despite a job that is already difficult, Lt. Gordon finds ways to improve the Patrol’s outreach to the community to save lives, such as with the driving simulator.
Trooper Matos
Trooper Martos was off duty in early January traveling along a state road in Lenoir County when he saw a car being driven by a young woman cross a bridge and slide off the icy highway into a creek. Her car was submerged and she had her young middle-school-aged son and infant child strapped in their car seats.
Without regard to his personal safety and knowing full well the dangers from hyperthermia, Trooper Matos, without hesitation, jumped into the freezing creek water and helped get the children out of the car seats and everyone to safety. Matos was treated at the scene for hyperthermia. The mother and her two children were safe because of Matos' courageous acts of heroism. Mathos said he wouldn’t hesitate to do it again.
Lt. Gordon and Trooper Matos were among award recipients such as Dept. of Transportation employee Chris Niver who created the idea to use high-fructose corn syrup to treat polluted groundwater and Employment Security employee Tarsha Crisp who discovered a problem in the unemployment law that saved the state $750,000 when corrected.
In Secretary Perry’s remarks, he said the FBI Academy had analyzed public servants and discovered they had the same psychological wiring as those who are called into the ministry.
“It has to do with something Plato said 2,700 years ago, “Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle,”” Perry said.