The Squad Car Maintenance Team has been selected as Regional Winner of the 2015 Governor’s Volunteer Awards for Community Based Volunteer Programs and was honored at the awards luncheon today at the Salem Conference Center. The SCMT is an invaluable asset to EPD, and prior to the implementation of the team in 2004, mechanics shuttled police vehicles that needed service to and from the fleet shop. In an effort to save time and resources for the shuttling service, the SCMT was formed, however, the value of the team extends far beyond the initial objective.
SCMT volunteers are energetic, positive, and often willing to take on any task, even those outside their normal duties. Since 2004, the SCMT has contributed more than 44,000 hours of service. Of the current volunteers, 46 percent have served on the team for more than seven years. The SCMT operates as a self-sufficient, highly functional component of EPD. The volunteers have written their own training manual, developed forms, and designed their own database for tracking purposes.
Seasoned volunteers take responsibility for training new volunteers. The volunteers suggest agenda items and take the lead in presenting the material at team meetings. The team takes the initiative to improve processes, always with the goal of keeping police cars clean, well equipped, organized and functioning well for the officers that use them on a daily basis.
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