It's been a week of awards for a handful of City of Lexington employees.

This week there were three City of Lexington employees were nominated for awards highlighting their commitment to service. The honorees were Heather Cross and Preston Wilson who serve at the Lexington Police Department, and Kassaundra Lockhart with City Administration.

The City of Lexington's United Way Campaign is a yearly campaign where employees are given the opportunity to make pledges to give benefitting United Way of Davidson County. This year the City's giving increased by over $16,000 with a 17% increase in participation. We also achieved a record-breaking dollar amount of $69,895.18 in pledges to give. This was due to the leadership, creativity and advocacy spearheaded by Kassaundra Lockhart, who serves as Organizational Advancement Officer for the City of Lexington. Lockhart was nominated for this year's Campaign Chair Award by United Way of Davidson County.

United Way of Davidson County says that Lockhart put her heart into the workplace campaign, which included implementing a week of department meetings with educational opportunities and activities that emphasize the importance of giving back through United Way.

“It’s an honor to be chosen for the Campaign Chair Award. While I led the charge, our campaign wouldn’t have been a success without our employees' willingness to give back," said Lockhart. "Their commitment to the community of people we serve daily ensured we had a record-breaking campaign. I’m also appreciative of Kristie Hege and April Rich who assisted and encouraged me throughout this process and my teammate Beverly Everhart whose contributions to the campaign, behind the scenes, were invaluable. Let’s all keep doing what we can to advance our community!”

Heather Cross and Preston Wilson were honored on Tuesday Night at the Lexington Area Crimestoppers award ceremony. Heather Cross, who serves on the telecommunicators team for the Lexington Police Department, was honored as Civilian of the Year.

Heather is currently a telecommunicator for the Lexington Police Department.  Heather returned to the Lexington Police Department in January 2006 after previously serving earlier in her career. Prior to returning to LPD, Heather was employed with the Davidson County 911 Center and Davie County 911 Center.  Heather's colleagues says she wears many other hats in addition to her role as a telecommunicator. Heather is described by LPD as one of the first people you talk to when you call the Lexington Police Department and always helpful. She aids other agencies, victims, citizens, and business with what they need.

“I am honored to be nominated and receive the Civilian of the Year award. My inspiration is the officers (local, state and federal) that I work with." said Cross. "My goal and driving force to persevere is to assist them in doing their job at the highest level of quality and to do it safely. I am thankful for my family, my 'village' and my hometown. Additionally, I would like to give a special thank you to who nominated me and the Crimestoppers Board for believing in me".

Sgt. Preston Wilson, who serves in the Criminal Investigations Division with the Lexington Police Department, was awarded Officer of the Year.

Preston began his career with the Lexington Police Department in January of 2017.  Sgt. Wilson started his career as a patrol officer. Wilson has held the titles of police officer, detective, corporal and is currently the Sergeant in the Criminal Investigations Unit.  Sgt. Wilson oversees the detectives in the Criminal Investigations, Evidence and the Special Victims Unit. Preston is described by LPD as a diligent worker and prepares some of the best investigations in the district. Sgt. Wilson is described by his colleagues as having a strong work ethic, manages big cases when they come up, works hard and has the integrity needed for his role.  He has become the lead when it comes to incorporating new investigate tools for the department to utilize. Preston is always willing to help other officers and investigators despite his heavy workload.  Sgt. Wilson is described as a loyal employee to the department and consistently performs at a high level, making him an asset to the City of Lexington and Davidson County. 

"It is an honor to receive this award among all the well-esteemed law enforcement officers in Davidson County," said Wilson. "I am grateful to receive this award while representing the Lexington Police Department" 

The City of Lexington would like to thank United Way of Davidson County and Lexington Area Crimestoppers for their commitment to serving the residents of Davidson County, and for recognizing our employees for their dedication to service.