Indiana Conservation Officer Cole Hollingsworth has been selected as the 2022 District 5 Officer of the Year.

District 5 includes Clay, Greene, Owen, Parke, Putnam, Sullivan, Vermillion, and Vigo counties. 

Hollingsworth is assigned to Greene County and has been a conservation officer since 2019. Before transferring to Greene County, he served Wayne County.

In addition to his normal duties as a field officer, Hollingsworth has served as a public information officer and airboat operator. He has also been selected as a future field training officer.

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

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