Carol Turney stood by her man and 1 police organization is thankful.

Carol Turney of Joliet said she and her husband Keith Turney both have busy independent lives.

So Carol realized that if she wanted to spend more time with Keith, she would literally have to stand by her man, which Carol did many times at various events when she was managing his national campaign in regard to the Fraternal Order of Police.

Keith, currently the second vice president for the state organization, was also elected to the national FOP sergeant at arms twice for two consecutive two-year terms, according to a news release from the Illinois Fraternal Order of Police.

He was the first Illinois FOP member to win a national position since 1995. And he was also the first Illinois FOP member to win a position on the seven-person national FOP executive board. This board runs the day to day operations of the National FOP, which has more than 340,000 members, the release said.

Carol’s behind-the-scenes contributions in supporting Keith were recently recognized when the FOP presented Carol with the Chardy Lieb Memorial Award. Chardy (deceased) was the wife of Jerry Lieb, a longtime FOP executive board member, the release said.

This award is presented to spouses of the FOP “for their active and dedicated support to the organization,” the release said.

“Law enforcement professionals know there’s nothing more important than the support you receive at home,” FOP State Lodge President Chris Southwood said in a news release. “Carol is a shining example of the type of selfless dedication that keeps our organization strong and its members safe and effective.”

Although Carol said she didn’t know Chardy well, Carol did know Chardy was “a wonderful woman” who was very dedicated to helping the FOP grow.

Carol said she had “tagged along” to a meeting in Springfield with Keith when she received the award, which was a huge surprise to her, she said.

“It’s always nice to be recognized and know that your work behind-the-scenes is appreciated by everybody,” Carol said. “That meant a lot to me.”

Founded in 1915, the Illinois Fraternal Order of Police’s website said it has only one mission,“To encourage fraternal, charitable, and social activities among law enforcement officers. To increase the efficiency of the law enforcement profession, and thus more firmly establish the confidence of the public in the service dedicated to the protection of life and property.”

Carol said her Keith worked for the Joliet Police Department for 31 years and was commander when he retired. He’s been involved with FOP for more than 40 years and “spends his time representing the interests of law enforcement,” Carol said.

“It’s a lot of work and it takes up a lot of his time, especially now that he’s on the national board,” Carol, who’s been married to Keith for 13 years, said. “So I’m by his side.”

During Keith’s national campaign, Carol coordinated a volunteer team and ordered shirts for them that read “Team Turney. Carol gathered and proofread campaign material. In the year before the election, Carol traveled around the country with Keith when he gave speeches.

“It was a lot of work and he had to meet a lot of people,” Carol said. “Now he has almost four years under his belt and he’s very well-known and well-received by all of the members in the states. He enjoys this, as do I.”

At the national conference during the week of the election, Carol was at the event early, before doors opened. Carol answered questions, moved boxes and ensured volunteers had their information, she said.

Although Keith is retired, Carol is not. She is a senior finance manager for a manufacturing company and often works long hours and/or weekends. And she’s gearing up to start his next national compaign.

“Certainly my work is not as interesting as his,” Carol said.

That said, Keith is as supportive of Carol as she is of him, Carol said. But that’s what spouses do, she said. They support each other and they support each other’s interests and spend as much time together as they can, she added.

And if “time together” means FOP-related activities, so be it.

“He does this for the profession,” Carol said. “And I do it for him.”