They’re a part of Lovelock’s skyline. The perimeter towers at Lovelock Correctional Center stand between 30 and 50 feet tall.
This winter, C/O Roger Woodard will descend tower four one last time. In the decades-long history of the prison, he’s the first person to work a consecutive 25 years as a C/O.
He’s been on the job since June 3, 1995, and is one of two remaining members of the prison’s first pre-service training class, a group of 25 men and women.
“He’s been decompressing in the tower the past couple of years,” said his wife of 37 years, Sherri Woodard. He’s also worked culinary, intake, structured living and other assignments. Culinary was his favorite, but Woodard has seen every corner of the prison. He even had a K9 partner named Amos for awhile.
“He’s worked every post except central control and prison industries,” said Sherri Woodard. “He’s done every day of his 25 years at Lovelock Correctional Center.”
The Woodards met in Spokane, WA. Roger Woodard put himself through the Correctional Academy in Tacoma. The couple became Nevadans in the early 1990s. They raised three children and have five grandchildren.
The Woodard’s grandson Tanner, 14, fills their lives with music and sports. He drums, plays the electric guitar and has a passion for football. He’ll begin his freshman year at Pershing County High School this fall.
C/O Woodard recently reset his alarm from 3:30 a.m. to 4 a.m. “Baby steps to retirement,” said Sherri Woodard.
