CLAY TODAY – In law enforcement, sergeants are the frontline leaders of the agency when it comes to leadership. They are often an agency’s largest population of leaders. They are responsible for the day-to-day operation, tasked with implementing continuous improvement strategies our agency adopts, all while leading, guiding, training, mentoring, and motivating the men and women under their command, which is crucial, especially in patrol. Meet Mark Maertz, a patrol sergeant with the Clay County Sheriff’s Office. Mark has served with the CCSO for 15 years, working across all facets from patrol, K-9, Investigations, SWAT and Narcotics.

In January 2020, Mark was promoted to sergeant and reassigned back to patrol, where most newly promoted supervisors go. He talked about leading by example and establishing a relationship of trust among his team members. It is a unique and rewarding position Mark said, “that allows for me to make an impact.”

Maertz grew up in Jacksonville, living on base at Naval Air Station, Mayport, where his father, a navy veteran, was stationed. He attended school in Jacksonville and began working at a local Winn-Dixie at a young age, where he met his wife Kami, whom he married several years later, and is also a lieutenant with CCSO. They have three children.

After getting married, Mark began working as a vehicle mechanic and then moved into the HVAC field, working as a heating and air conditioning technician. However, Mark knew that was not his passion.

“I always had a passion for law enforcement. It was on my mind,” he said.

So he started looking for a pathway into law enforcement. Mark went on several citizen observer rides, both with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office and one with my wife’s family in law enforcement out in Texas. After that, he finally decided to move forward with his dreams and pursue a career in law enforcement. He applied for a job with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office as a correctional officer, which was his foot in the door to achieving his dream of being a deputy in law enforcement. While working as a corrections officer, Mark attended the cross-over academy so that he could transition from corrections to law enforcement. After finishing his training, Mark applied to the Clay County Sheriff’s Office and later was hired as a sworn deputy. When he started with CCSO, he talked about the agency’s family culture and how working with some of the best field training officers in the agency helped shape him into today’s leader.