Oxford Exchange Club Honors OPD’s Kevin Houston as Officer of the Month

By Rick Hynum
for HottyToddy.com

Getting served with a warrant isn’t high on anyone’s bucket list, but Oxford Police Department Officer Kevin Houston handles the often thankless job with utmost professionalism and keeps the wheels of justice rolling smoothly, says his supervisor, OPD Sgt. Ryan Winters.

OPD Officer Kevin Houston. Photo courtesy of the Exchange Club.

The Exchange Club of Oxford honored Houston recently as its Officer of the Month for July 2018. Houston accepted the award in a presentation at the organization’s meeting last week at the Inn at Ole Miss.

“I can sit up here and talk all day about why I believe he should be Officer of the Month,” Winters said in nominating his colleague. “He’s had to adapt to many changes in staff positions, but it hasn’t slowed him down.”

Houston presently serves as a Warrant/Evidence Officer, but he has filled a number of roles at OPD. He started out as a Reserve officer in 2000 and became a fulltime Patrol Officer in 2001. He served as a K-9 Officer from 2004-2008 and was promoted to sergeant during that period. He was promoted to lieutenant in 2012 and Captain Over Patrol in 2014. He served as a Student Resource Officer in 2016 and became a Warrant/Evidence Officer this year.

“He jumped right into his new role and made it easier, not only for himself and the department but also for me as his supervisor,” Winters said. “He has opened my eyes to many new ideas and better, more effective ways of doing things as far as camera systems, evidence and court procedures are concerned. Officer Houston is most deserving of this recognition because of his commitment, dedication and positive attitude throughout his time at OPD.”

In accepting the award, Houston said he and Sgt. Winters are friends as well as colleagues and bonded when both of them lost their fathers around the same time.

“I’ve had just about every position there is at the Oxford Police Department,” said Houston, a married father of three. “I’ve had my ups and downs and round-and-rounds, not only in my own life but at work, too. I was (Sgt. Ryan’s) supervisor at one time, and now he’s my supervisor, so it just goes to show you: Don’t burn your bridges. But he’s great, and I enjoy working with him and for Captain Ivy.”

I’ve had a lot of learning experiences over the last four or five years, but God is always watching out for you,” Houston added. “If you turn your life over to him, he’ll hook you up.”

The Exchange Club of Oxford is one of Oxford’s leading service organizations, with a focus on prevention of child abuse, Americanism, community service and youth programs. Among its many projects, the nonprofit supports the Exchange Club Family Center in Oxford, which works to improve the quality of life for at-risk families by breaking the cycle of child abuse and neglect through prevention, intervention and educational services.