Officer sees summit as safe place to relax

Lt. Debra Yokley of the Rowan County (N.C.) Sheriff's Office lifts her hands in praise during the Law Enforcement Summit at LifeWay Ridgecrest Conference Center. Yokley has attended the conference three of the four years it has been held. by Kent Harville

by Kent Harville

RIDGECREST, N.C. (BP)--Rest doesn’t come easy to Lt. Debra Yokley.

Yokley has been with the Rowan County Sheriff’s Office in North Carolina for 14 years. She has attended the Ridgecrest Law Enforcement Summit for three of the four years it’s been held.

“This is just a great time of Christian fellowship with other officers,” she said. “It’s a time of rest and renewal for me. I feel comfortable around other officers. They can sympathize with my needs.”

She called the summit, sponsored by LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention, “a safe place to rest. At home, you’re always on guard. Even when I go to the grocery store, I’m likely to see someone I have arrested. You always have to pay attention. It’s hard to just relax.”

Yokley said it’s meaningful that all the conferences are directed to some aspect of law officers’ lives. “Everything here applies to us and what we go through,” she said. “The leaders understand that our lives are different.”

The next Ridgecrest Law Enforcement Summit will be Oct. 3-5, 2006. For more information, go to www.lifeway.com/ridgecrest.