2025 ODRC's Correction Officer of the Year

Andrew Lansing posthumously awarded Correction Officer of the Year

(COLUMBUS, Ohio)-The Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction (ODRC) announced today that Andrew Lansing is the agency's 2025 Ronald C. Marshall Correction Officer of the Year. This prestigious honor is awarded to a correction officer who best personifies the agency's core values.

In December of 2024, Andy's peers at the Ross Correctional Institution (RCI) named him Correction Officer of the Month, this honor came just days before his tragic murder on Christmas Day. In January of this year, the staff at RCI chose Officer Lansing to represent them as the facility's Correction Officer of the Year. Each of ODRC's 28 institutions names a Correction Officer of the Year; these 28 officers are then in the running to be named the agency's Ronald C. Marshall Correction Officer of the Year.

Earlier this week, RCI also dedicated its roll call room in honor of Officer Lansing. Now, staff will start their workday in the 'Andrew Lansing Roll Call Room'-a reminder of the standard of work Officer Lansing presented at the institution.

"Officer Lansing trained many staff members," said RCI Warden Bill Cool. "He took great pride in teaching new staff how to be firm, fair, and consistent. Andrew was a true leader. His heart was larger than his body, and he was always willing to help anybody. We continue to grieve his loss at RCI."

At RCI, he was heavily involved in the institution's day-to-day operations. Lansing served on the agency's Special Response Team and was the squad leader for many years. Later in his career, he focused on training new officers coming into the institution, where he led by example to make sure everyone was set up for success.

Before starting at RCI in 1994, Lansing was an infantryman and sergeant in the U.S. Army. He also served in Iraq to help with prison operations.

Outside of RCI, Lansing was heavily involved in his community. He was an active church member and a part of the Masonic lodge in Waverly, Ohio.

"Officer Lansing represented everything good about us - he was loyal, professional, served as a role model and mentor, a husband and a father, a friend, a veteran and a trusted colleague," said ODRC Director Annette Chambers-Smith. "The way that he greeted everyone, staff, volunteers, contractors, incarcerated people, was exactly how we hope all of our officers treat the people they interact with. He was always pleasant; he knew everyone's stories and had an interest in their lives. His murder was a senseless and unimaginable tragedy, one that shook the very foundation of our agency. My thoughts and prayers continue to go out to his family, friends, and loved ones every day. He was very deserving of this honor, and he will never be forgotten."

The Ronald C. Marshall Correction Officer of the Year is named in honor of former Warden Ron Marshall, who started as a correction officer and, through his hard work and commitment, climbed the ranks through ODRC to be named warden. Those chosen for the award have proven to have the same high standards of excellence.