The Ohio State Highway Patrol announced the recipients of its 2024 Leadership Awards on Friday in Columbus.

Motor vehicle inspector Lauren E. Merz, Warren District Commercial Enforcement Unit, was selected as Motor Vehicle Inspector of the Year. She completed 1,024 school bus inspections and 805 vehicle identity inspections throughout the Warren District, which includes the Warren post in Southington.

Merz has been with the Ohio State Highway Patrol since January 1993. She began her career as a member of the 124th Academy Class, serving in the Warren District throughout her career.

She retired as a trooper in May 2019 and began working as a dispatcher in the Warren Dispatch Center that November. In January 2021, she became a motor vehicle inspector assigned to the area district.