Chenoweth recognized for 28-year career

In a law enforcement career spanning 28 years, you're bound to learn a thing or two. On Sunday, Sanders County law enforcement, friends and family members celebrated the retirement of Lieutenant Shawna Chenoweth.

"I've done so many different things and learned so much," Chenoweth told the group of about 50 people who gathered at the Elks Lodge in Thompson Falls on Sunday to commemorate the occasion.

Chenoweth was joined by her husband Darrell and her son Garrett, who was 14 months old when she started in law enforcement back in 1995. She started with the Sanders County Sheriff's Office as a dispatcher, then got hired as the first female police officer for the city of Thompson Falls. Once she returned to the sheriff's office in 2004, she worked as a deputy and a school resource officer. In 2010, she took the lieutenant position overseeing the detention and dispatch staff. Chenoweth joked that throughout her career, she had a lot of different badge numbers. "I'm grateful my parents taught me I could do anything," she said on Sunday. "They always said to try everything once so in the future if asked, you can do it."

Chenoweth reflected on her law enforcement career on Monday as she took the first steps of settling into retirement. "It was a great career," she said Monday. "How do you wrap up a whole career in just a few minutes?" She said that she and her staff had a lot of fun, and that the good times far exceeded the bad. "I will miss the people, my staff and my colleagues from across the state," she added. Chenoweth was part of a state jail commander group that met twice a year beginning in 2015. "It was nice to have that peer support from jail commanders across the state," she noted. Since 2021, she has also served as one of two jail representatives on the Montana Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association board, acting as support for jails across the state. "We gave a voice through legislation for jails across the state," she said of her board position.

Colleagues and friends shared memories and stories at Sunday's event, and the common theme was support. "She always had people's backs when she took over detention and dispatch," said dispatcher Bill Brown, who worked with Chenoweth and retired just last week. "She looked out for people."

Chenoweth said that she hopes her legacy will be that she treated people respectfully when they came to the jail. "Sometimes we were the only people who ever supported them. That's a big part of people becoming better members of society, being shown a little respect and that they have support." She said that over the years, she has received thank you cards from inmates and updates on how they were doing. One former inmate even invited her to speak at his graduation after he completed one of his programs.

Sheriff Shawn Fielders said Chenoweth deserved the recognition she was getting on Sunday. "I don't like seeing good people leave, but Shawna deserves her retirement," he noted. "Her experience and talent, it's hard to lose that. She will be missed." He then, as has become custom, presented Chenoweth with her service weapon to keep.

"There's life after law enforcement," retired Sanders County detective Chad Cantrell told Chenoweth. "Enjoy it."

Chenoweth said she was grateful for the appreciation at her retirement celebration, and for the cards and calls she received as she retired. She said she is looking forward to hunting season and taking a little time for herself. "I felt very special and appreciated. It's been a great ride."