Staff photo by Fritz Busch Brown County Probation Agent Mary Portner holds the 2024 Professional Achievement field Services Award she received at the Minnesota Corrections Association Conference Oct. 22.

NEW ULM — Brown County Commissioners recognized Brown County Probation Agent Mary Portner Tuesday for receiving the 2024 Professional Achievement Field Services Award.

Portner received the award Oct. 22 at the Minnesota Corrections Association Conference. The award is given to one field service agent and one correctional facility staff member consistently displaying outstanding achievement.

Brown County Probation Director Evonn Westcott said Mary has been with Brown County Probation for 17 years. She is part of a treatment court team and supervises enhanced supervision programs.

“It’s pretty impressive to be honored with a statewide award like this. Brown County is pretty fortunate to have Mary as part our team,” said Westcott.

Portner said her favorite part of her job is being part of the treatment court team and having the opportunity to witness growth and change in participants.

A trained facilitator in restorative conferencing, Portner was the interim Brown/Nicollet County Treatment Court Coordinator in 2014 and 2017. She supervised enhanced supervision cases including DWI clients and treatment court participants.

Following college, she was a Lyon County correctional officer for three years and worked as a treatment court agent in Wabasha before coming to Brown County to work as an intensive supervision agent in 2008.