Sheriff’s top staff honored with national award

For the past several years, Sheriff Lon Thiele has made a push to provide professional development for his command staff. And now those efforts are receiving national attention.

The Steele County Sheriff’s Office has earned the FBI-LEEDA Agency Trilogy Award, a distinguished national honor for leadership development and professional advancement. The honor was presented to Thiele and his command staff on March 13 by representatives of the national organization.

Steele is only the second law enforcement agency in Minnesota to receive the award. In 2022, Eden Prairie Police Department captured the recognition.

The Agency Trilogy Award recognizes agencies whose command staff have successfully completed FBI-LEEDA’s comprehensive three-part leadership series, which addresses critical areas including ethical leadership, community-focused policing, crime reduction strategies, implicit bias, emotional intelligence and strengthening public trust. The award signifies an agency’s dedication to cultivating strong leadership at every level and fostering meaningful, long-term impact within the community it serves.

FBI-LEEDA’s Jacques Battiste, executive director, and Michael Robinson, COO, came to Owatonna to personally honor Thiele’s command staff with the achievement. Thiele currently serves as president of the national organization.

In addition to Thiele, the command staff includes Scott Hanson, chief deputy and Tyler Brase, Jake Holm, Mike Smith and Andy Seifert, sergeants.

“The Steele County Sheriff's Office has shown exactly the kind of commitment to leadership that FBI-LEEDA was built to support,” said Battiste. “Sheriff Lon Thiele and his command staff have invested in themselves, their team, and most importantly, the people of Steele County. It was an honor to personally present this award — and to do so for an agency led by our own FBI-LEEDA President made it that much more special."

Thiele reflects on what the award means for his office and the community it serves. "FBI-LEEDA has been one of the most meaningful parts of our agency's growth,” he said. “The Trilogy program challenged our command staff to look inward, lead with greater purpose, and think more deeply about our responsibility to our community. This organization has shaped the leaders we are today, and this recognition is a reflection of that commitment."

Sheriff Thiele, who plans to run this fall for re-election, is already planning for when he eventually retires. “It’s succession planning,” he said of the national training. “I share the intel with my command staff, so they know what to expect with learning and growing professionally. You have to adapt to the evolving law enforcement world we have,” he added.

Each FBI-LEEDA course is designed to equip public safety professionals at every rank with practical leadership and management skills. The programs are led by experienced law enforcement executives from across the country who bring real-world expertise and insight to every class.

Since the inception of the Agency Trilogy Award, 266 law enforcement organizations have been recognized for excellence in leadership upon completion of the Command Leadership Institute, Supervisor Leadership Institute, and Executive Leadership Institute. To learn more about the Agency Trilogy Program, visit www.fbileeda.org.