2021 Best of Carson Valley celebrated

To read this year's magazine, go to: https://bit.ly/2YstxtY
The magazine appears in today's printed edition.

 

Raised on a Carson Valley ranch, Douglas County Sheriff’s Deputy Tyree Holdridge has deep roots in the community he serves.

That might explain why he was voted best first responder in The Record-Courier’s annual Best of Carson Valley awards.

Holdridge, Deputy Ryan Grant and Sgt. Bernadette Smith were recognized at the Best Of luncheon on Wednesday at the Carson Valley Inn in Minden.

The Record-Courier has been highlighting the best of Carson Valley every year since 1995.

Holdridge, 34, works in the Sheriff’s Patrol Division, is a motorcycle officer and a member of the Special Weapons and Tactics team. He has served in Douglas County for more than four years, after working as a deputy in Alpine County from 2009 to 2016.

He has won two Medals of Valor in May 2018 and April 2019 in officer-involved shootings. He also received Douglas County’s Purple Heart in 2018.

Holdridge said that as someone who grew up here he wants to take care of it and keep it safe. A lot of his success can be attributed to his fellow deputies including mentors Deputy Joel Kruger and Sgt. Ron Miller.

School Resource Officer Ryan Grant has 17 years of law enforcement experience and is currently assigned as a School Resource Officer for the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office.

He is also working with a new K-9 Officer Lagatha, a playful yellow Labrador who will help keep drugs out of the schools.

Grant is an advanced DT instructor and is on range staff.

Previously he worked as a Patrol Deputy, SWAT Operator, Field Training Officer, and a Level Three Coroner.

Grant is the recipient of the Lifesaving Medal for his response in October 2020 to a call for an unresponsive subject.

He arrived on scene and recognized quickly the individual had overdosed so he administered Narcan which brought the individual out of medical danger. The person was able to walk to the ambulance for treatment after that and is alive today.

Grant was at “Burgers for Badges” or “Bark in the Park” with Lagatha by his side. Grant still has Lagatha’s sister Fraya and her brother Remington.

Grant is married and has four children, including one in college. 

Sgt. Bernadette Smith started her career as a 911 dispatcher in Los Angeles, working there for 10 years. In 1996 she and her family moved to Douglas County where she was employed as a 911 dispatcher for a year and was hired as deputy. She has had assignments in the jail, administration and patrol divisions. She is assigned to the jail and also coordinating the Good Neighbor Program and Mobile Outreach Safety Team.