News  Margaret Oglesby Award is presented to Court Officer for the first time in the award’s seven-year history

Above: Michael McDonald and Frank Oglesby, Margaret Oglesby’s husband

Middlesex Superior Court Chief Court Officer Michael Mcdonald was presented with the Margaret E. Oglesby Award on Tuesday during the Annual Veterans Breakfast at the Massachusetts Probation Service Operations and Training Center (MTOC) in Clinton. The ceremony began with a stirring rendition of the “National Anthem” by Court Officer Thomas Bolden.

A Navy veteran, Chief McDonald is the first Court Officer and employee outside of MPS to receive the award since it became a Trial Court event this year. The award named in honor of Hampshire Superior Court Chief Probation Officer Margaret Oglesby has been presented to MPS staff in the past.

Chief McDonald, the 7th Margaret Oglesby Award recipient, stood before his Trial Court security colleagues, previous award recipients, MPS and Trial Court employees, including Trial Court officials Boston Municipal Court Chief Justice Tracy Lee Lyons, Deputy Court Administer Jill Ziter, Director of Security Michael McPherson, Deputy Director of Security Robin Yancey, and Regional Security Director Yvonne Slade.

Reflecting on his upbringing in Northwest Decatur, Alabama, Chief McDonald spoke about his decision to join the Navy and his grandmother’s influence, “My grandmother was a very hard lady. She told me how discipline would take me to heights beyond the border of Alabama.”

He also spoke about Mrs. Oglesby’s important presence and impact on the court and community.

The ceremony featured remarks by Probation Commissioner Pamerson Ifill, Massachusetts Trial Court Chief Justice Heidi Brieger, recently-appointed Court Administrator Michael Coelho, and Director of Security McPherson, Mrs. Oglesby’s husband Frank, daughter Elizabeth, and granddaughter 2-year-old Eden, dressed in pink, were also in the audience.

Mr. Oglesby along with 2022 Oglesby Award winner Matthew DeVeau, a Worcester District Court Chief Probation Officer, presented Chief McDonald with the Margaret Oglesby award.

Addressing the audience, Mr. Oglesby told Chief McDonald that Mrs. Oglesby would have liked him. He also spoke about taped interviews of his wife he recently discovered and shared some of her words.

“She said she was appreciative of being a ‘positive example for those who work in the courthouse.’” She spoke about addressing defendants with respect and how it gave them a feeling of credibility,” Mr. Oglesby said.

Mrs. Oglesby, who passed away in 2020, was a military hero and leader. A US Army Captain, she managed 154 soldiers as the Commander of the 747th Military Police Company with around the clock operations. She also trained the first Afghan military police company. Prior to her service in Afghanistan, Mrs. Oglesby also served the country as a member of the military by protecting the nation’s airports immediately following the 9/11 attacks.

Chief McDonald served two periods of active military service, from 1994 to 2000, and again from 2007 to 2024. He served as a Master-at-Arms, primarily stationed in Rhode Island with deployments and assignments in the Middle East, Europe, Cuba, and Puerto Rico.

We congratulate Chief McDonald on receiving the award and thank him for his service.