Warren Correctional Institution
Commissioner of Prisons Todd Ishee today named the Warden and Correctional Officer of the Year during the state prison system’s annual awards ceremony.
Doris Daye of Caswell Correctional Center is Warden of the Year, and Officer Michael Wyche of Warren Correctional Institution is the top Correctional Officer.
“I’m so honored,” said Daye, warden of Caswell since 2019. “We all have been through so much the last couple of years. I’m happy to know there are so many people who were thinking about me.”
Officer Wyche, besides his regular duties at the Warren County prison, is commander of the Rifle Team for the regional Prisons Emergency Response Team (PERT), which handles special situations, from facility searches to tracking escaped offenders. The award, he said, is for “doing the hard work and having a determination to make a difference.”
Prisons’ awards ceremony was held during N.C. Correctional Officer and Correctional Employees Week. Top officials from state government thanked Prisons staff for their commitment to protecting the public.
“Every day, you all save our lives,” Kristi Jones, chief of staff to Gov. Roy Cooper, told Prisons staff. “You risk your lives every day to save our lives.”
N.C. Department of Public Safety Secretary Eddie M. Buffaloe Jr., who once worked as a correctional officer, agreed that Prisons jobs are tough, but they are also “a calling to serve.”
“I’m grateful that each day, you wake up and go to your facilities, where you keep all of us safe, both inside and outside the prison walls,” Buffaloe said.
Warden Daye recently led the N.C. Correctional Association as state president. She is also active with the State Employees Association of N.C. and with the Prisons system’s Women Working in Criminal Justice task force. In 2019, she was the recipient of a Badge of Excellence award from the N.C. Department of Public Safety.
A 25-year state employee, Daye started as an office assistant at Orange Correctional Center and advanced through the ranks. She is a graduate of N.C. A&T State University and holds a master’s degree from Ohio State University.
Officer Wyche began his correctional career at Warren Correctional in 1998. Warden Shanticia Hawkins praised Wyche as “the standard. He represents what all correctional officers in the Department could be.
“Everyone at Warren Correctional sees what he does every day,” Warden Hawkins added. “He inspires all of us.”
Besides the top warden and correctional officer, the awards ceremony recognized dozens of staff in all Prisons areas, from maintenance to rehabilitative programs to correctional supervisors.
“We’re here to formally recognize the best of the best corrections professionals in North Carolina,” Commissioner Ishee said. “We want to honor our team members who have done extraordinary service.”
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