SPRING VALLEY – In Spring Valley, a police officer has been honored and awarded within the 29th Assembly District as the First Responder of the Year after performing life-saving acts during 2020-2021.

Officer Dulcie Lilly achieved this honor in early November after being nominated by Spring Valley Police Chief Sharon Verges. The nomination stemmed from Lilly helping Spring Valley citizens through two life-threatening situations.

“The first responder award is available in each assembly district and each district hosted nominations for somebody in the first responder side of things,” Lilly said. “It was open to EMS, fire and police and I was nominated and won.”

The training she has received allowed Lilly to act quickly and efficiently to save lives. One instance was related to carbon monoxide and sewer gas fumes and the other occurred during a traffic stop.

“I remain pretty calm in those situations, you kind of just do it and the adrenaline and everything comes after the incident, it is just part of our training to do these things,” she said. “There were two incidents that were a part of my nomination. One was an incident I assisted with in Elmwood. I was there to assist with traffic control and I found myself helping EMS treat patients.

“The other one was in Spring Valley during a traffic stop for speed and the driver was a mom and she said her baby was choking on some type of plastic, so I ended up performing the chosen method to help infants choking because it was a nine-month-old infant. I called EMS right away and they were able to remove the plastic but it was the best-case scenario and I was meant to be there.”

Lilly has been serving Spring Valley for almost two years and has been in law enforcement for 12 years. She career began in Nevada at a university.

“I started my law enforcement career out in Reno, Nevada at the University of Nevada-Reno, and then after that I worked at two agencies in Clark County,” she said.

Her favorite part of working in Spring Valley is the community and the support from the people. She gives them glowing reviews.

“I love the community and the people are so great and I thoroughly enjoy working with the EMS service here. They are very professional and it is very easy for me to do my job knowing they are here because of the quality of service they bring to the village, especially during the two incidents that we spoke about,” Lilly said.

Lilly is one of two full-time police officers in Spring Valley and she is proud to be able to serve this community.

Spring Valley police officer Dulcie Lilly accepts the First Responder of the Year Award for Wisconsin's 29th Assembly District from Rep. Clint P. Moses (R-Menomonie). Photo courtesy of Dulcie Lilly