Village Board meetings are not usually a big draw, so Lakewood Police Chief Mary C. Stoddard was suspicious when she had trouble finding a parking space Tuesday night.
There were clues to the mystery. Her daughter, Stacy Frazier, of Crystal Lake, and granddaughter, Morgan, 5, were in the parking lot. Stacy was carrying a handful of flowers.
But, like one of those murder spoofs where everyone is in on the plot, it was when the chief entered Village Hall and saw it packed with family, friends and colleagues that the mystery was solved.
They came to celebrate Stoddard’s 30th year as a member of the Lakewood police force and her 15th anniversary as chief of the 11-member squad.
“This is a wonderful village,” Stoddard said. “That’s why I stayed here so long. I hope to stay here as long as I’m healthy.”
Stoddard, 56, came to the village as a police officer in June of 1970 and in April 1985 became chief. In 1991, she was named Illinois Women in Law Enforcement’s Woman of the Year.
She is active with the McHenry County Domestic Violence and Child Abuse boards and the state’s attorney’s gang task force and has chaired the candlelight vigil for domestic abuse against women. She also serves on the Illinois Senior Services task force for the prevention of elder abuse.
She is a past chairwoman for Turning Point, an organization dedicated to helping victims of domestic abuse and a past president of the McHenry County Police Chiefs Association.
McHenry County Sheriff’s Lt. Gene Lowery said Stoddard’s devotion to law enforcement is not limited to the local level.
“Cathy Stoddard has been on the leading edge of women’s issues not only in the county but statewide,” Lowery said. “She’s a trendsetter whose programs have had a significant impact in law enforcement all over Illinois. She’s very well-respected and admired.”
Trustee Carl Davis agreed that Stoddard has made great strides regarding women’s issues and added that the Lakewood Police Department’s reputation can be largely attributed to Stoddard’s leadership.
“Cathy’s record speaks for itself,” Davis said. “Because Lakewood is a small village, it’s important that our chief and police officers have a good handle on what’s going on. Chief Stoddard certainly has her finger on what goes on here day to day and for that reason I believe our Police Department is one of the most effectively run departments in the area.”
