The Ohio State Highway Patrol’s Athens Post has named Trooper Todd J. Wallingford its 2026 Trooper of the Year, the Patrol announced, in an announcement reported by Hopewell Heritage Headlines.
Wallingford, 30, was selected by his peers at the post, who pointed to his enthusiastic work attitude, leadership abilities, community engagement and professionalism with supervisors, peers and the public, the Patrol said in the announcement reported by Hopewell Heritage Headlines.
A graduate of Vinton County High School, Wallingford joined the Patrol in 2022 as a member of its 171st Academy Class and has served at the Athens Post since graduating, the Patrol said. He now lives in Athens County.
Wallingford has been a leader in OVI enforcement at the Athens Post since 2024, and in 2025 he received a MADD award for that enforcement work, the Patrol said in the announcement reported by Hopewell Heritage Headlines. OVI enforcement — removing impaired drivers from southeast Ohio roads — is a core part of the Athens Post’s work across Athens and surrounding counties.
The Athens Post also honored Dispatcher Suzanne Dicken, who received the Patrol’s 2026 Telecommunications Award at the Athens Dispatch Center, the Patrol said. Dicken joined the Patrol in 1984 and has served at the Athens and Jackson dispatch centers; an Athens native and Athens High School graduate, she was chosen by sworn officers and dispatchers for her technical knowledge, work attitude, teamwork and prompt, courteous response to the public.
The paired honors underline how much of the Athens Post’s work happens out of public view. Dicken’s telecommunications award, after a Patrol career that began in 1984 and has been spent at the Athens and Jackson dispatch centers, recognizes the dispatchers who take the first call on the region’s worst nights, while Wallingford’s award recognizes the road work that follows — the Patrol announced both honors together, Hopewell Heritage Headlines reported.
What happens next: with the post honors, both Wallingford and Dicken are now in the running for the District and State Trooper of the Year and Dispatcher of the Year awards, which the Patrol said it will announce at a later date.
Photo: Stch2022, CC BY-SA