Game Warden Brock Clukey of Andover has been selected as the 2020 recipient of the Maine Game Warden of the Year award. Contributed photo

ANDOVER — Game Warden Brock Clukey of Andover said he was shocked when he learned last month that he had been selected as the 2020 recipient of the Maine Game Warden of the Year Award.

He said his bosses surprised him when they met him on the Androscoggin River in Rumford to present him with the award.

“I am very humble, getting the award, it means a lot to me and my family,” he said Friday. “Being a Maine Game Warden is really more than just me. It is the people I work with, people I serve in the State of Maine, and my friends and family.”

Clukey, 45, who patrols the Andover District, is a 24-year veteran with the Maine Warden Service.

Mark Latti, communications director with Maine Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, wrote that Clukey is “dedicated to the mission, vision and values that our agency promotes; and absolutely enjoys his work and the opportunity to protect our natural resources and serve Maine’s growing sporting community.”

Clukey said he started riding with Maine Game Wardens when he was a high school freshman, then rode with them all through high school and into college out of the Greenville area.

“Twenty-five years ago, I was a deputy warden assigned to Whitewater Rafting Enforcement, and then became a full time warden after that (1997),” he said.

After he finished his field training under former major Greg Sanborn, Clukey started his career in the Saco/Biddeford District. He worked there for seven months, then transferred to the Andover District in 1998.

Clukey said he works all year protecting and “enhancing Maine’s natural resources, serving the people of the state of Maine, and being a good law enforcement officer to the public. It is the best job for sure. Every day is different; you never know what you might see or have happen.”

He said that over the years, things have changed for sure, “but the one thing that really hasn’t changed is how we patrol our areas and protect fish and wildlife. We work a lot now with a lot of landowners, with recreational issues, and we really try to help the public as much as we can.”

As a veteran of the Warden Service, Clukey also works to assist new wardens, work with people to enjoy what Maine has to offer, and be a good steward.

“I am proud to be a Maine Game Warden and to serve the people of the state of Maine,” said Clukey.

Clukey lives in Andover with his wife, Jane, and their two daughters, Emma and Paisley.