MAPE members honored at work

MAPE Local 502 is celebrating as Vice President Pat Pueringer and longtime member Ray French received awards for their work with the Minnesota Department of Public Safety (DPS).  

Ray French was awarded the DPS State Patrol Employee of the Year. Ray has 20 years working with the State Patrol and a total of 38 years in DPS.  

A write-up about him receiving this honor said, “Ray exemplifies the mission and positively impacts the people of our agency. Whether it is purchasing items for the warehouse, assisting districts with purchasing questions or acting as backup for the office phones, he is always willing to step up and do what needs to be done. His humility, commitment, honesty, integrity and resilience make him a true leader.” 

Pat Pueringer, who is part of MnIT, won the DPS State Patrol's Exceptional Service award for his work on the Body-Worn Camera Team. On this team Pat helped outfit over 700 members of the State Patrol with body-worn cameras, field cameras, tasers, signal sidearms and smartphone with evidence-gather capabilities.  

As the IT specialist, Pat worked diligently behind the scenes ensuring the technology structure was in place and working properly. Pat and the team traveled across the state conducting nearly 100 training sessions over five months to launch the program. This large-scale project also required collaboration across many departments. The project was completed in less than a year. Pat is an example of how teamwork and the common purpose ensured a successful project.  

French and Pueringer were presented the awards in a ceremony held at DPS in December 2022.