Indiana Conservation Officer Max Winchell has been selected the 2021 District 5 Officer of the Year.

District 5 includes Clay, Greene, Owen, Parke, Putnam, Sullivan, Vermillion, and Vigo counties in west-central Indiana. 

Winchell is assigned to Vigo County and has been a conservation officer since 1995.

In addition to his normal duties as a field officer, he also serves as a dive master, sonar operator, background investigator, field training officer, and division spokesperson.

The district award puts Winchell in the running for the Pitzer Award, which is given to the top overall conservation officer in the state and selected from the 10 district award winners.

The Pitzer Award is named after Indiana Conservation Officer James D. Pitzer, who was fatally shot while investigating illegal hunting activity on Jan. 2, 1961, in Jay County.