A corrections deputy with the Island County Sheriff’s Office was honored at a national law enforcement convention earlier this year, where he won an Image Award from a nationally recognized nonprofit.

Deputy Adam Gonzalez won his Corrections USA Image Award for going above and beyond his regular duties to obtain additional certifications from various accredited law enforcement agencies across the country.

“My award was more for portraying a positive image for what we do,” he said.

Corrections USA is a nonprofit that represents correctional officers working at all levels of government. Gonzalez was honored at a conference of the organization Feb. 16 in Las Vegas, Nev.

“I’m grateful to be recognized,” he said. “I was very surprised but very grateful for it.”

Gonzalez, a Central Whidbey resident, spent most of his career as a corrections deputy in Utah, where he recently retired. When he moved to Whidbey Island around a year ago, he decided he was not ready to fully retire and took a job with the Island County Sheriff’s Office.

Gonzalez said the skills he gained from his various certifications throughout his career made him better able to serve his community.

“It allows for us to serve them in a better way, to provide them the resources that may help them to not be another recidivism statistic,” he said.