AUGUSTA — An investigator for the Kennebec County Sheriff’s Office has been named the national deputy of the year.

The National Sheriffs’ Association last month presented Sgt. John Bourque with the Charles Meeks Merit Award for Deputy Sheriff of the Year during a ceremony at the association’s conference in Fort Worth, Texas.

Bourque was selected from a pool that includes more than 3,000 sheriff’s offices and 100,000 deputy sheriffs across the country.

Bourque tells the Kennebec Journal that the award was “a great honor.”

The 38-year-old Bourque began his law enforcement career in 1997.

Sheriff Randall Liberty said in a release that Bourque has particularly thrived as a narcotics investigator, managing confidential informants and maintaining contact with other agencies to help interrupt the state’s drug trade.