 Melody Kinser
Hanover welcomes 4 new troopers Joining the ranks were Brian Scott Butchyk, a Lake Hiawatha, N.J., native; Scott Adam Gagne, from Chester; Reginald Gerald Reavis, of Richmond; and Michael Lewis Tudor, who hails from Mechanicsville.
Virginia’s State Police presence in Hanover County grew by four this summer, with new troopers being assigned after completing the 114th Trooper Basic Session.
Joining the ranks were Brian Scott Butchyk, a Lake Hiawatha, N.J., native; Scott Adam Gagne, from Chester; Reginald Gerald Reavis, of Richmond; and Michael Lewis Tudor, who hails from Mechanicsville.
Butchyk had been working for the New Jersey State Police as an auto technician when he decided to pursue a career as a trooper. He said “seeing and watching and hearing about some of the cases and traffic stops” led him to his new profession.
Those cases and traffic stops, he said, were “a real motivational factor to be a trooper.” He also said he enjoys public interaction.
He describes his experiences in protecting and serving Virginia’s residents as “motivational and exciting.” He said there are new experiences every day.
A Glen Allen resident, Butchyk and his wife Kimberly have three children, Zachary, 10; Austin, 5; and Connor 2.
He graduated from Roxbury High School and studied criminal justice at Kaplan University. He is the son of John and Arlene Butchyk.
Reavis said he chose the Virginia State Police because he wanted “to help lower crime and help people in need.”
The son of Raymond and Ruth Reavis, he formerly was employed by the James River Correctional Center as a correctional officer.
His educational background includes some college.
In his new position, he said he finds it “exciting,” and, like Butchyk, experiences “new things every day.”
With what he called “a great interest in the military and law enforcement,” Gagne said he had “met a lot of police officers and enjoyed their stories of what they do and realized that law enforcement would be a great career for me.”
He considers the 35 weeks in the academy as “a great experience alone.
He also said the time he has spent as a trooper “have really shown me what this job is about. I enjoy that every day is exciting and different.”
Gagne is the son of Bert and Susan Gagne. He is a graduate of Thomas Dale High School.
In addition to his responsibilities as a trooper, he is a volunteer with the Chesterfield County Fire and EMS.
Tudor’s graduation from the academy simply meant coming home.
His selection of a career was easy: it’s all in the family. His grandfather was a trooper and his father is a trooper.
His father, Jon Tudor, is a sergeant serving in Caroline County and King George County. Tudor also is the son of Carol Tudor.
He received a bachelor of arts in psychology from the Virginia Military Institute in 2007.
“Excellent, very rewarding and fun career” was how Tudor described following in his family’s footsteps.
He also said he enjoys “helping people every day.”
The four were among 59 troopers, two commercial vehicle enforcement officers and two special agent accountants who participated in commencement exercises on July 3 at the Virginia State Police Gymnasium in Richmond.
They reported to Hanover County on July 7 and spent a minimum of six weeks with a field training officer learning his new patrol area.
Training for the 114th Basic Session got under way on Oct. 25, 2007.
Throughout the course of the session, the new troopers received more than 1,300 hours of instruction in more than 100 different subjects, including crime scene investigation, survival Spanish, judicial procedures, defensive tactics, cultural diversity, and firearms.
For more information on the Virginia State Police, call 1-866-877-2329 or visit the Web site, http://www.virginiatrooper.org.
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The names are in the wrong order, should be Butchyk, Reavis, Gagne, Tudor --Scott Adam Gagne of Chester Sep. 20, 2008 at 07:43 PM
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