Mike Modec has been working in law enforcement for nearly 25 years, including the last three years as an officer with the Scottsbluff Police Department. The 51-year-old Modec, who dreamed of becoming a police officer when he was a little kid, said he’s grateful for every day he gets to put on a police uniform and help, encourage and protect people in his community.
JEFF FIELDER Editor
SCOTTSBLUFF – Growing up in Arlington Heights, Illinois – a suburb of Chicago – Mike Modec always used to picture himself serving as a police officer someday.
“I remember going to the post office one day with my mom when I was really little, and I stood there looking up at a police officer, thinking, ‘I want to be like him when I’m older,’” said the 51-year-old Modec, who’s worked in law enforcement for about 25 years, including the last three with the Scottsbluff Police Department. “It just seemed like it would be a cool job to have.”
His desire to be a police officer didn’t wane as he got older.
“As a kid, I remember playing outside with my friends, pretending like we were Starsky and Hutch or CHiPs,” he said with a laugh.
Modec still had ambitions of becoming a police officer when he graduated from John Hersey High School in Arlington Heights in 1986.
However, Modec held off on attending college because his dad, who was friends with one of the equipment managers for the Chicago Bears, helped secure a job for Modec as an equipment worker on the Bears’ staff.
Modec was excited about the opportunity, for it was a chance for him to work for the NFL team he grew up rooting for. Adding to the intrigue for Modec was that the Bears were coming off one of their best seasons in franchise history, including defeating the New England Patriots 46-10 in Super Bowl XX.
You can read the entire story on Modec in the May issue of Nspire Today! magazine. A one-year subscription (12 issues) is only $15. You may sign up for a subscription by sending $15 to Nspire Today!, P.O. Box 454, Scottsbluff, NE 69363, or you may pay with a credit card by calling 308-220-8865.
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