A retirement reception was held for retiring police chief Doug Shannon Tuesday, June 24, at the Mount Vernon-Lisbon Police Department.

During the reception, a number of officers spoke about the impact working under Shannon had under their law enforcement career.

Sgt. Willie Daubs spoke about the dedicated service that Shannon had to the communities of Mount Vernon and Lisbon.

“When I met Shannon 24 years ago, he was a great teacher to what it meant to be a law enforcement professional in a small community,” Daubs said. “He grew into one of my confidants and an exceptional leader of this department.”

He recounted Shannon’s ability to tell jokes with a straight face, following a traffic stop for a vehicle without proper registration and the driver having no license. The vehicle was filled with newspapers. As Shannon told the steps they would have to follow – impounding the vehicle among them, he said they’d have to inventory for the thousands of individual newspapers.

“It was only when I went to start that work that the smile cracked,” Daubs said.

Daubs said that Shannon would check in with his officers with occasional meals or stops at their homes and be very open with communication if they were going through a tough time in the community.

“He did a lot to let us vent about frustrations, but also kept the community in mind,” Daubs said.

Daubs admitted that the last year has been tough for many in the department, knowing Shannon was eyeing retirement.

“We have been better officers because of our time working with you,” Daubs said.

Mayor Tom Wieseler thanked chief for the professionalism he brought to the role over the years, and for the foresight to work towards the merger with Lisbon Police Department years ago.

Wieseler also said he appreciated the even keel of the department, with the relationships that Shannon and the department had within the community that kept the department from dealing with being on the front page of newspapers.

Officer Amy Ford said that she encountered Shannon when she had started with Anamosa Police Department years ago. When Shannon had been looking to possibly take the job as chief in 2009, she didn’t finish that job.

When Ford came to the Lisbon Police Department in 2017, she once again was working along side Shannon, and then when the departments merged in 2021.

“I’m thankful for the time I got to work under Doug, and wish he’d been my chief for the 20 years I’d have in law enforcement this February,” Ford said.

Ford said she knew the department was set up well for Chief Blinks to take over, that all that will likely change is the name at the top of the letterhead.

Officer Todd Gehrke had a number of words that described the qualities he admired from Shannon over the years, including empathy, leadership, father, friend, veteran.

“Good luck on your next milestone,” Gehrke said.

Shannon’s wife, Crystal was the last to speak at the ceremony.

Crystal thanked Doug for the 35 years of service he gave to the community to protect and serve, but also to remember the importance of being a father.

“You always came home to your family every night,” Crystal said. “The backbone for you was professionalism, and that went beyond the badge and the uniform.”

Crystal described Doug as a calm in the center of storms, a voice of reason.

“You’ve served this community with honor,” Crystal said. “You don’t know how deeply proud of you we are.”

Shannon himself thanked the community as the reason why he served so long.

“The resilience and compassion this community has made this job easy,” Shannon said. “We faced tough times, but the community always met them head on and came together as a community to move forward.”

Shannon also thanked secretary Tasha Whitman, who came on just as the department was merging 4 and a half years ago, as one of the forces who made the department better every day.

He also said to his family a thank you for the sacrifices they’ve had to make because of his career, the times that he missed important events or brought work home with him.