Fwd: Lieutenant Staci Shaffer
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Lorenda Volker
Apr 5, 2023, 10:43:57 AM4/5/23
to John Feyen, John Kefalas, Kristin Stephens, Jody Shadduck-McNally, Joseph Shellhammer
Sheriff Feyen,
I wanted to share an email that was sent from a community member to the Board of County Commissioners in recognition of Lieutenant Staci Shaffer. Lt. Shaffer makes a remarkable impact on our community every day and it's heartwarming to see her recognized in this way.
Lorenda
 | Lorenda Volker County Manager |
Commissioners' Office 200 W Oak St, Fort Collins, 80522 | 2nd Floor |
---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Larimer.org <nor...@larimer.org>
Date: Wed, Apr 5, 2023 at 6:13 AM
Subject: Lieutenant Staci Shaffer
To: <bo...@larimer.org>
From: Larimer.org <nor...@larimer.org>
Date: Wed, Apr 5, 2023 at 6:13 AM
Subject: Lieutenant Staci Shaffer
To: <bo...@larimer.org>
This form was submitted on Wednesday, April 5, 2023 - 6:13am from https://www.larimer.gov/bocc.
Lieutenant Staci Shaffer
Galen Trine-McMahan
I am writing this message as a private citizen, not related to any job position I hold with the County. I want to notify the board of my observations of Lieutenant Staci Shaffer and the organization she has helped form.
My background is in civil rights law, and I spent years suing corporations and counties on behalf of inmates who had been permanently maimed by cultures of disdain and indifference. When those cultures are allowed to creep into leadership, and through leadership, into practices, the results are -- aside from sometimes millions of dollars in lifelong medical care -- significant to families, and the community which will ultimately re-absorb offenders and attempt to re-integrate with them.
A week or so ago, I was able to take an in-depth tour with Lt. Shaffer. She was a model of dignity, compassion, firmness, integrity, and strength (the true form of strength and power, from which place there is nothing but compassion). I was impressed by her deep intellect and knowledge of systems, and the effect that those systems have on citizens and inmates. For example, she has made decisions, sometimes a bit more costly in the short-term, related to medical care and oversight. I know from personal experience, beyond any personal doubt, that those decisions have saved the County tens of millions of dollars, and likely millions of dollars per year, on account of lawsuits which never happen, in turn on account of people who walk out of the jail rehabilitated, rather than in a wheelchair or with a catastrophic brain injury or untreated stroke.
This goes far beyond saving the County untold millions which can be put towards other more productive services for community members. Juries award money in recognition of the ways in which damage to one branch of a tree is insidious, creeping, and widespread: it damages the entire tree. When the damage is prevented, the whole tree is healthier. Lt. Shaffer seems, to me, to recognize this, and embody it in every facet of her existence. While I followed her, I saw many people -- all different sorts of people -- come up to her with both ease and admiration, the way children might come to a parent who is emotionally whole and in their power. She is a teacher and a guide in the truest sense, and like many of the truest leaders, I suspect she does nothing to self-promote or grandstand. I suspect she may also be 'hidden' in the way the truest leaders can sometimes be, by virtue of the fact that her leadership involves coaching and empowering others to step forward, become large, and reach the top of the mountain, (something that was easy to intuit by her interactions with others). In the short hours we had together, I saw her as a vital, beating-heart of the community.
Sometimes it's good to place a hand over our heart, acknowledge it, and thank it for being there. This letter is my way of doing that. It's good for good things to be seen.
My background is in civil rights law, and I spent years suing corporations and counties on behalf of inmates who had been permanently maimed by cultures of disdain and indifference. When those cultures are allowed to creep into leadership, and through leadership, into practices, the results are -- aside from sometimes millions of dollars in lifelong medical care -- significant to families, and the community which will ultimately re-absorb offenders and attempt to re-integrate with them.
A week or so ago, I was able to take an in-depth tour with Lt. Shaffer. She was a model of dignity, compassion, firmness, integrity, and strength (the true form of strength and power, from which place there is nothing but compassion). I was impressed by her deep intellect and knowledge of systems, and the effect that those systems have on citizens and inmates. For example, she has made decisions, sometimes a bit more costly in the short-term, related to medical care and oversight. I know from personal experience, beyond any personal doubt, that those decisions have saved the County tens of millions of dollars, and likely millions of dollars per year, on account of lawsuits which never happen, in turn on account of people who walk out of the jail rehabilitated, rather than in a wheelchair or with a catastrophic brain injury or untreated stroke.
This goes far beyond saving the County untold millions which can be put towards other more productive services for community members. Juries award money in recognition of the ways in which damage to one branch of a tree is insidious, creeping, and widespread: it damages the entire tree. When the damage is prevented, the whole tree is healthier. Lt. Shaffer seems, to me, to recognize this, and embody it in every facet of her existence. While I followed her, I saw many people -- all different sorts of people -- come up to her with both ease and admiration, the way children might come to a parent who is emotionally whole and in their power. She is a teacher and a guide in the truest sense, and like many of the truest leaders, I suspect she does nothing to self-promote or grandstand. I suspect she may also be 'hidden' in the way the truest leaders can sometimes be, by virtue of the fact that her leadership involves coaching and empowering others to step forward, become large, and reach the top of the mountain, (something that was easy to intuit by her interactions with others). In the short hours we had together, I saw her as a vital, beating-heart of the community.
Sometimes it's good to place a hand over our heart, acknowledge it, and thank it for being there. This letter is my way of doing that. It's good for good things to be seen.
John Feyen
Apr 5, 2023, 12:13:03 PM4/5/23
to Lorenda Volker, Jody Shadduck-McNally, John Kefalas, Joseph Shellhammer, Kristin Stephens
Hi Lorenda,
I’m so fortunate, as a leader, to have Lt. Shaffer working with me. I’m also fortunate, as a human being, to know Stacy as a person. I echo Galen’s sentiments about Stacy as no encounter goes by without her teaching me something.
Thank you for sharing the kind words, I’ll make sure they get to Stacy.
Regards,
John
John J. Feyen, Sheriff
Larimer County Sheriff's Office
2501 Midpoint Drive
Fort Collins, CO 80525
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