The officer chosen for the 1989 Michigan Corrections Officer of the Year is Dennis R. Bledsoe, of the Ionia Temporary Facility. A medium-security prison, it currently houses 950 inmates.

The finalists were: Dennis W. Clarkson of the State Prison of Southern Michigan, a close custody facility for men near Jackson; Ronald G. Desbrough of the Huron Valley Men's Facility, a maximum-security prison for men near Ypsilanti; Larry E. Gale of the Cotton Regional Correctional Facility, a medium-security prison for men near Jackson; and Thomas W. Hauk of the Florence Crane Women's Facility, a medium-security prison in Coldwater.

State Corrections Director Robert Brown, Jr., said "the outstanding quality of our employees as demonstrated by these men and by the other nominees should make citizens of our state proud of the people who work in their prisons and halfway houses. The vast majority of our 6,800 corrections officers are very capable, professional and dedicated career employees."

Selection of the winner and finalists were made by a committee of the Michigan Correctional Officers' Training Council. They are: Dan Bolden, Deputy Director of the Bureau of the Michigan Corrections Organization; Patricia A. Cuza, Director of the Office of Criminal Justice; and Ernest Wallick, Deputy Director of the Department of Civil Service.

Every institution and field service region nominated an individual for the honor and the list was narrowed down to five by a committee, which included past winners of the title.

Bledsoe has been employed by the Department since 1975 when he started his career at the Michigan Reformatory. In 1987, he transferred to the Ionia Temporary Facility.

He served as a member of a gun squad during the August, 1975 disturbance at the Michigan Reformatory, and helped to control about 500 prisoners to regain control of the facility.