Seven different law enforcement agencies from North Georgia were honored at Wednesday's Governor's Challenge Awards ceremony in Macon.
Sponsored by the Governor's Office of Highway Safety (GOHS), the annual awards recognizes law enforcement agencies across the state. Awards are distributed in seven different categories based on department size and in several specialty categories. The biggest prize - the Governor's Cup - is awarded to the top-performing department among all categories.
In North Georgia, the following agencies received awards:
Individual Department Awards:
- Demorest Police Department - 1st place (1-10 officers)
- Cornelia Police Department - 2nd place (11-25 officers)
- Franklin County Sheriff's Office - 3rd place (26-50 officers)
- Gainesville Police Department - 1st place (101-250 officers)
- Hall County Sheriff's Office - 2nd place (251-500)
Special Category Awards:
- Cornelia Police Department - Child Passenger Safety
- Elbert County Sheriff's Office - Underage Alcohol Prevention
- Gainesville Police Department - Technology
Traffic Enforcement Network of the Year:
- Northeast Traffic Enforcement Network-NETEN (includes Hall, Jackson, Banks, Stephens, Rabun, Franklin, Hart, Forsyth, White and Habersham counties)
The 2018 Governor's Cup went to the Byron Police Department in central Georgia.