By Karen Gleason
The 830 Times
Val Verde County Sheriff Joe Frank Martinez has been named the recipient of the 2023 Tom Tellepsen Award.
Martinez received the award during the annual Sheriffs Association of Texas convention in Ft. Worth the week of July 22 through July 25.
Steve Westbrook, executive director of the Sheriffs Association, said the Tom Tellepsen Award is named for Tom Tellepsen, a native of Norway “who became a staunch and patriotic American.”
“The Tellepsen Foundation, which was created to honor Mr. Tellepsen’s lifelong support of law enforcement, provides this award. The Foundation trustees unanimously approved the initial establishment of this award in 1975,” Westbrook said.
“The Tellepsen Award is the highest of tributes to the sheriff who is selected as its recipient. The selection criterion includes the recognition of outstanding contributions to the advancement of law enforcement and criminal justice and honors more than ability and performance. The recipient, who must possess these qualities, must additionally have demonstrated the human element that engraves his/her name in the hearts of all the law enforcement community and a genuine love of the profession,” Westbrook said in speaking about the award.
Martinez said he had no idea he was being considered for the award.
“I wasn’t anticipating getting any recognition for making comments to the media. I did a podcast several months back, and I guess, Steve (Westbrook) saw it, and he forwarded it to Karen Tellepsen, and that’s what this is all about,” Martinez told the 830 Times in an interview Thursday.
The podcast was “The Jenny Beth Show,” hosted by conservative “author and filmmaker” Jenny Beth Martin, who also founded the Tea Party Patriots organization.
Martin interviewed the sheriff on her podcast in May about illegal immigration and border security.
“The interview with Jenny Beth was about the border issues, a little bit about politics and how I saw it from the ground level,” Martinez said.
Martinez has been interviewed by members of the media from around the U.S. and the world who have come to visit the border and speak to an authority on the front lines about the immigration and border security issues making headlines.
“I always tell them the same thing. It doesn’t ever change from my point of view: if both parties would come together and work together, we’d probably get something resolved,” Martinez said.
Martinez said he doesn’t like talking to the media, “but I’d rather be the messenger, telling them how I see it from the ground level, from the viewpoint of the chief law enforcement officer in the county.”
“The other piece is that what took place here two years ago (during the Haitian crisis), none of the country knew about what was going on. We here on the border, we knew what was going on, because we see it every day, and we saw it every day as it evolved, but people in Seattle, people in the central United States, people on the East Coast, had no clue. They had no clue what was going on, and in my opinion, the message had to get out,” Martinez said.
Martinez said he was surprised at receiving the award, adding, “There’s probably a lot more people out there more deserving than I am.”
Martinez said he called Martin after he received the award to let her know the interview of her podcast had been the impetus for the award.
As for his message about illegal immigration and border security, Martinez said it remains unchanged.
“I know over the last two years, with all of this going on (on the border), I’ve just been calling it how I see it, from my seat, from my position, and I’ve got 80-something media folks from all over the country and all over the world, and it’s the same message I tell them all. It’s the same message I told Jenny Beth,” Martinez said.
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