TRINITY, Ala. — Many people in Morgan County say one leader in law enforcement has a servant’s heart!
He’s worn many hats, and now, his hat is Trinity Police Chief.
His name is Chief Michael Hughes, and he is this month’s Valley’s First Responder of the Month!
Chief Hughes served his country and his state.
“When I got out of high school I joined the Marine Corps. Then after the Marine Corps, I got into EMS, and working on the ambulance for a while. Then I got to law enforcement with the Alabama State Trooper. And then after that, I came to the Trinity Police Department.”
After serving several years as a patrol officer, he’s now wearing a different hat.
“I just felt like I could make more impact at a local level,” said Hughes.
He’s about a year into his role as Police Chief for the town of Trinity. “He’s very organized and does everything to the best of his ability. Everything is at least 100%.”
Hughes is also bringing some new changes.
“I’m big on education," said Hughes. "I want my guys to get an education. Training is huge. I want to improve our training program, and developmental - so we can be more effective and professional.”
“We deal with a lot of mental health issues. It’s kind of been thrust upon law enforcement to deal - with these issues, and I think we need to get back to the way the state of Alabama has invested more into mental health issues.
“He comes to city council meetings just about every time going, ‘Hey, what about this? ‘How about we do this.?’ Because he’s trying to make it a better place,” said Mayor Pro-Tem Trinity Town Place #3 Brandy Logston.
“He’s very organized and does everything to the best of his ability. Everything is at least 100%,” said Trinity Town Place 1 Councilmember, Jared Terry.
He said he's it's been challenging the past year, by taking on this new leadership role during the pandemic. “I was thrown right in the fire immediately."
However, what’s most rewarding to Hughes in this role is the next generation.
“It’s working with the youth at schools here in Trinity currently," said Hughes. "If you can be that positive influence on the outside, you know, somebody that can talk to this young man or this young lady.”
“He’s very good at what he does. He brings it home with him. His kids go to the schools so he’s very involved with everything he does,” said his wife, Diana Hughes.
“It’s not always about putting people in jail, food or furniture moved, or any place where we can be of a servant,” said Hughes.