THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, September 24, 1995 TAG: 9509220191
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 10 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY SUSIE STOUGHTON, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: SUFFOLK LENGTH: Long : 120 lines
Women outnumber men, 2-1, among the city's new police officers.
The nine recruits - six women, three men - were chosen from about 140 applicants who made the cut after a written test, agility test and examination by the oral review board.
Recently sworn in, they are training with veteran officers, rotating among detective and uniform divisions and administration, said Mike Simpkins, the department's recruitment officer. On Nov. 6, they will begin a five-month police academy.
The officers - who range from 22 to 28 years old - include four whites, four African-Americans and one Asian-American. They come from varied job backgrounds - corrections, security, sheriff's departments, homicide investigations and business. Seven are military veterans.
Only one is a Suffolk native, while the others have roots in other parts of Hampton Roads and in Illinois, Michigan, New York, Texas and West Virginia.
For most of them, a career in law enforcement has been a dream they've pursued for quite a while. The officers are:
Tyrell Champagne, 28.
A Chicago native, Champagne lives in Virginia Beach with his wife, Audrey, and their children - an 11-year-old son, Keelan Robert Miskel, and six-year-old daughter, Terry. He served in the Marine Corps four years, receiving several awards and holding a top secret security clearance.
After leaving the service, he worked in security for a company in Hawaii, then moved to Hampton Roads, where his wife was stationed with the Navy.
He received a bachelor's degree in sociology from Norfolk State University in 1994, and worked most recently at Southampton Correctional Center.
Charles Allen Fellers Jr., 26.
Fellers, a Norfolk native, lives in Virginia Beach with his mother and stepfather. A graduate of Green Run High School, he served in the Marine Corps four years, receiving the Naval Commendation medal with Combat ``V'' for heroic action during Desert Storm.
Four years ago, he moved to New Orleans, where worked for the Sheriff's Department as a drill instructor in the ``About Face'' program. He returned to Virginia Beach and worked for the Sheriff's Department there for nearly three years, then moved to Key West, Florida, hoping to become a police officer. But after that city imposed a freeze on hiring, he returned to Virginia Beach and worked again for the Sheriff's Department as a correctional officer.
Sandra Lynn Gilluly, 26.
Gilluly moved to Suffolk from Rochester, N.Y., where she graduated from Gates Chili High School.
She has taken criminal justice courses at Monroe Community College in Brighton, N.Y., and worked for the Monroe County medical examiner's office as a medical forensic investigator. She had visited a cousin in Hampton Roads and liked the area, then applied for a position in Suffolk when she heard of openings.
Kimberly Lei Mayo, 27.
Mayo, a Chesapeake resident, graduated from Great Bridge High School. She has taken courses in electronics at Norfolk State University and nursing at Thomas Nelson Community College. She served in the Air Force for eight years and lives in Chesapeake with her 20-month-old son, Marlon McCloud.
Her hobby is track and she once considered trying out for the Olympics.
Janet Lynn Naylor, 27.
Naylor, a native of Parkersburg, W.Va., graduated from Parkersburg High School and has taken criminal justice courses at several community colleges. She served in the Navy five years, attaining the rank of petty officer. She is a chief petty officer in the active reserves.
Since January 1994, she had worked for the Portsmouth Police Department as a security officer. She and her husband, John, recently moved to Suffolk from Virginia Beach.
Carla Jean Parker, 27.
Parker, a native of Houston, Texas, graduated from Chester W. Nimitz High School in Irving and attended Tarrant County Junior College in Hurst.
She served in the Navy four years, attaining the rank of E-4 petty officer and receiving a national Defense Medal. After leaving the service, she worked for Murray Guard and Caliper Inc. in Norfolk.
Parker lives in Norfolk and has an 8-year-old son who lives with her mother in Florida.
Mara Evana Quinn, 22.
Quinn, who was born in Great Lakes, Ill., lives in Virginia Beach. She graduated from Kempsville High School and has an associate's degree in criminal justice from Tidewater Community College.
She worked as a security guard at Military Circle Mall for nearly a year and has taken courses in firearms training, searches and self defense. She worked with the Virginia Beach Police Department in their Explorer Post.
Marcus Lee Young, 25.
Young, a Suffolk native, graduated from Forest Glen High School in 1989. He lives in Suffolk with his mother, Reginia L. Young. His father, Herbert L. Young, also lives in Suffolk.
After high school, Young served in the Army for three years as a medical specialist. He is now in the inactive reserves. After leaving the service, he worked briefly for Allied Colloids. For the past three years, he has been a jail officer at the Western Tidewater Regional Jail.
Tammy Marie Younger, 27.
Younger, who was born in Detroit, graduated from Mumford High School, then joined the Navy. Recently, she was stationed aboard the Shenandoah as a chief engineer. After leaving the service, she worked for Pitney Bowes in Norfolk for three months before being hired in Suffolk.
She lives in Virginia Beach with her two children, an 8-year-old daughter, Jennifer N. Perry, and a 3 1/2-year-old son, James R. Younger III. ILLUSTRATION: Tyrell Champagne
Charles Fellers
Sandra Gilluly
Kimberly Mayo
Janet Naylor
Carla Parker
Mara Quinn
Marcus Young
Tammy Younger
by CNB