A big honor for MTC’s Senior Vice President of Corrections Bernie Warner who was recently named the 2019 recipient of the Louie Wainwright Award.

“I think it is a great representation of how active he still is in advancing corrections in the United States.”

The award is named after a corrections pioneer and is given by the Association of State Correctional Administrators. We spoke with the executive director of the organization Kevin Kempf.

“There’s one person in all of the United States. I’m mean, think about it. There’s a about 400,000 correctional staff out there in the U.S., eight million adults in custody. There’s a lot of leadership and staff; there’s one person in 2019 being recognized for this award—and it’s Bernie.”

Bernie has worked in corrections for nearly 35 years, many of those in leadership positions in both adult and juvenile systems. Before joining MTC, he was the Secretary of the Washington State Department of Corrections. Bernie is commitment to improving corrections and rehabilitating lives.

“His passion for corrections plays a part in why his peers have chosen him for this prestigious award. Bernie is everywhere. He shows up to meetings and conferences and committees. And he doesn’t just sit back and watch. He participates and jumps in and provides great counsel to all of us in the room.”

Bernie received the award in Boston in August. Check out ASCA’s Facebook post about Bernie’s recognition.

“When Bernie’s up there receiving his award, I think all of MTC should stand a little taller and have their shoulders back a little more, because first and foremost, he represents MTC, he represents that company.”

Kempf says Bernie and MTC’s passion for changing lives sets a great example for every corrections department across the nation.

“I know that you guys have a firm belief that people can change; and providing people with opportunities to change. And I think the more and more that we can collectively do that as a correctional industry, the better off our country is going to be.”