Photos by Marc Wrzesenski Judge Rudolph Sacco presents Police Chief Michael Wynn with the Lawrence Strattner, Jr. Distinguished Citizen Award.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Police Chief Michael Wynn is one of those guys who overpacks. He takes a full backpack for a short hike. He fills his car for a vacation trip.

 

And his friends and family haven't been shy about teasing him for it, "until it starts to rain or they run out of water or they forgot to pack their gloves," he said. 

 

"I may be the guy who overpacks but I am also the guy who will provide half a shift with hats and gloves by raiding my patrol bag."

 

Being prepared is a habit and a lesson he learned as a child in the Boy Scouts. It is one of the four major principals that has stuck with him throughout his career.

 

"Nearly my entire life I relied on lessons I learned from Scouting to guide my actions and my decisions," Wynn said. "At every step in my life the guidelines and stepping stones the Scouts introduced to me were the foundations I used to build success."

 

He was a Boy Scout as a youth in Pittsfield. He attended the Naval Academy, Berkshire Community College, and then Williams College. He worked 20 years in the Pittsfield Police Department, rising to become chief. He became an instructor for many law enforcement agencies including the state police, and for Roger Williams University. On the side, he volunteers on the BCC board of trustees, and for the Berkshire United Way.

 

On Wednesday, all he has done for the community so far was honored by the Western Massachusetts Council of Boy Scouts of America. He is the 2015 recipient of the Lawrence Strattner Jr. Distinguished Citizen Award.

 

"The Lawrence Strattner award is presented to a recipient annually, not only for his or her commitment and service to the community but specifically for the service to the youth of the community," said Laurie Norton-Moffatt, who led the ceremony. "Chief Wynn exceeds these criteria."

 

It is Wynn's leadership that stands out to state Rep. William "Smitty" Pignatelli. The Lenox representative said being a leader isn't about leaping single buildings in a single bound like in superhero movies. Leadership is about inspiring "a belief in the greater good." 

 

"Chief Michael Wynn lives his life by example and inspires others to follow. He believes that leadership is not a destination but a journey. People follow him not because they need to but because they want to," Pignatelli said.

 

Wynn's work in the community and on the police force is more than a job, Pignatelli said, it is his "life work."

 

"If any of us every have to dial the three simple numbers 911, it is the men and women in blue who help us in our time of need. We will never truly know what Chief Wynn and his officers go through each day. When they put on a uniform and step into the line of duty, anything can happen. But because they are prepared, our community is safer," Pignatelli said. 

 

Pignatelli read and presented the chief with a certificate from the House of Representatives in front of a crowd numbering close to 100 filled with cultural, political, and business guests. And past winner retired Judge Rudolph Sacco presented the award.

 

"This is very humbling and a little unsettling to be standing before this distinguished group. Generally speaking, I prefer to celebrate other people's accomplishments when I am speaking to a room," the chief told the crowd.

 

The chief said he was humbled by the award.

If it wasn't for the Scouts, his life wouldn't have been the same, he said. He outlined four basic principals he learned in the Boy Scouts that have carried him through his career.

 

Do your best: the chief said that was the first rule he learned, even before he was a member of the Scouts. He read it in a book about Scouts.

 

"It is not a bad life rule. Do your best. You could do a lot worse for a mantra," Wynn said.

 

Do a good turn daily: "As active Scouts, we tend to look at this as the next big service project or community program. But, in life it becomes so much simpler. Doing one nice thing for someone each day is not a lot to ask, especially if it is someone who is close to you or in your daily life," Wynn said. 

 

"It doesn't have to be a big deal. A simple gesture, a small expression, a seemingly modest act, they can all each make a difference in someone else's day and they cost us nothing."

 

Be prepared: "When we learn to expect the unexpected, it tends to be a little less dramatic. Life tends to get a little simplier when we take the time to be prepared," Wynn said

 

Leave every campsite better than you found it: the chief said as a Scout, that means taking everything you brought to a campsite and anything the person before you left behind. But, that same rule applies to everything else he's done in life. He challenged the crowd to "leave your mark on everything" and make the world a better place.

 

"If everyone went through their day following four simple rules that every 11-year-old Boy Scout knows by heart - do you best, do a good turn daily, be prepared, leave everything better than you found it - how much better would our lives be and how much good could be all do?" Wynn said. "We would all be much better off."

 

Of course, there are other lessons. 

 

"If your head is warm and your socks are dry, you can be comfortable anywhere," a lesson he said that is useful on a SWAT operation or Marine Corps candidate training. Wynn pulled out his pocket knife since he got in the habit of always carrying one. He remembers good tips like keeping your knife and hatchet sharp, a lesson Wynn joked saying the man recently chasing a beer in North Adams forgot. 

 

Former honorees of the award are Sacco, Andy Mick, Gov. Jane Swift, Peter C. Giftos, Conrad Bernier, Ed McCormick, Michael Daly, Ray Murray III, Susan Lombard, David Phelps, state Sen. Jack and Mrs. Jane Fitzpatrick, Dick Whitehead, C. Jeffrey Cook, Robert Wells, James Mooney, Dan Dillon, the Rev. Willard and Mrs. Rosemary Durant, Thomas Aceto, and Lawrence Strattner Jr.