On March 31, District Attorney Carrie Schneider hosted the 12th Annual Best Badge Awards Banquet at Liberty Hall in Kimberly.  Several notable awards were presented during the evening, but two, both Investigative Teamwork Awards, were presented to members of the Grand Chute Police Department.  They were presented for outstanding investigative effort for two 2010 crimes, the Kwik Trip robbery and shooting and a violent home invasion.  In the case of the Kwik Trip robbery, the award was shared with the Outagamie County Sheriff's Department and the Appleton Police Department.

Representing the department and accepting the awards were Lt. Mike Velie, SSgt. Todd Zolkowski, Officer Scott Callaway, and Officer Brad Kuehl.  Officer Mike Renkas was recognized for his role in the home invasion investigation, but was unable to attend the event.  Each recipient made it abundantly clear that these were team awards, and credit for successes such as these goes to many people, not only those whose effort resulted in an award nomination.  So, with that acknowledgment, we'd like to congratulate not only those officers who represented the police department during the awards ceremony, but every member of the department who contributed to these successes.