Name: Louis W. Ritter

Honored by The Carroll County Sun for: Being promoted to the rank of lieutenant with the Maryland Natural Resources Police, serving as deputy regional commander of the Northern Region.

Age: 52

Residence; hometown: Sykesville; Dundalk, Baltimore County

Education: 1958 graduate of Dundalk High, Baltimore County; 1975 graduate of Chesapeake College, Wye Mills, Queen Anne's County

Family: Wife: Eileen, 31, is a Natural Resources Police officer in Carroll County

Place of worship: St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Sykesville

Activities/hobbies: Member of the Elks and Moose lodges in Westminster; member of the American Legion Post 191 in Mount Airy; enjoys hunting, fishing, boating and gardening

Accomplishments: Early in his career, made changes in the Hunter Safety program to expand it and make it function more smoothly; made similar major changes to the Maryland State Police Academy program while he was assistant training director; helped institute the police shooting range at the academy; rearranged the boating safety program, taking on more volunteer instructors and "bringing it into the 20th century"

Recipient's comments: "It's a big change for two reasons. Prior to this, I workedin support services and we did things differently with a staff that worked close together and did a lot on our own. Now I have a lot morepeople that I'm responsible for and we have a huge geographical area. It covers from the Susquehanna to Carroll down to Montgomery and Howard counties and back up again. It covers the big metro area of the state. I've seen changes over the past 20 years in the way the counties have become more developed and the wildlife has been depleted because of it. But I think people are more environmentally aware than they used to be."

Nominations: Call 876-8771, 857-0550 or (800) 829-8000, Ext. 6595, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Mondays; you also can FAX your information to 876-0233.