“Public service has always been really important to me. So whenever I can help, I want to help,” said Cyson.
And through his years of service, he’s learned a thing or two. One of the most important, he says, is how to direct traffic at big events.
Cyson has been around so long, he even trained in Captain Matt Carlson when he was a Reserve Officer. Carlson now leads the Reserve Unit.
“When I was a reserve just learning the ropes, I was assigned to work with Tim at the 4th of July parade, and we got to work an intersection together and he was showing me how to conduct traffic direction. That might seem like a pretty straight forward and easy process for people who don’t know what’s going on behind the scenes, but he was very patient with me and he showed me how to be very clear with my hand motions,” said Carlson
Cyson has been volunteering as a reserve officer for 40 years, and has the most volunteer hours on record ever in the Blaine Police Department.
“It’s almost unfathomable for us to think that someone has dedicated 40 years of their life to serving our community in a volunteer capacity,” said Blaine Police Chief Brian Podany.
Chief Podany and the rest of the department honored Cyson for this milestone at this week’s council meeting.
Cyson was honored with a plaque recognizing his service, as well as a thank you card signed by every officer in the department.
“I honestly don’t know that I’m really worthy of that,” said Cyson. “Words can’t explain how I feel. There’s such joy and appreciation. I’ll live with this for the rest of my days.”
“I just can’t thank [Cyson] enough for what he’s done for our community, for our department, and for me personally as well,” said Chief Podany. “If I’m ever having a bad day, and I talk to Tim or just see him around, it helps put things in perspective that this is what it’s about, and this is why we are doing this.”
Cyson says he’s not going anywhere, and plans to keep serving a volunteer reserve officer with the city.
