COLUMBIA, S.C. — Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott has been formally presented with the National Sheriff of the Year Award.
Lott picked up the award Wednesday while at the National Sheriff's Association awards luncheon. He was given the award by Lisa Broderick, the executive director of Police2Peace.
This is the first time the organization has named a South Carolina sheriff as sheriff of the year. The NSA Ferris E. Lucas Award for Sheriff of the Year was established in 1995.
Lott has been sheriff of Richland County since 1997. He's been in law enforcement for over 40 years, working as an investigator in several fields, including narcotics.
This isn't the only major award Lott earned this year. He was also named the South Carolina Sheriff of the Year back in May. He'll pick up that award to add to this one in Myrtle Beach in July at the meeting of the South Carolina Sheriffs’ Association.
Founded in 1940, the NSA represents thousands of sheriffs, deputies, and other law enforcement, and public safety professionals, nationwide, with the Association’s roots stretching back to the Interstate Sheriffs' Association founded in Minnesota and surrounding states in 1888.