LOCUST — The Locust Police Department has officially recognized Mitchell Cagle as the selection for the city’s 2024 Citizen of the Year award.
At the Locust City Council meeting last month, Locust Police Chief Jeff Shew presented the honor to Cagle, who worked as the general manager of the Locust Walmart for several years before recently being promoted to the retail chain’s Salisbury location.
“The Locust Police Department congratulates Mitchell Cagle for this well-deserved honor, and we thank him for all of his support while he was with the Walmart in Locust,” the LPD said in a statement. “We wish him nothing but success at his new store location. Congratulations and thank you Mitchell!”
Since 2021, the Citizen of the Year award has been given on an annual basis to honor a Locust citizen or citizen associated with the city that “has performed exemplary deeds or services for their city or their fellow citizens, and/or exhibits a strong sense of selflessness, caring, and responsibility.”
The LPD created the honor to recognize someone who has best exemplified those descriptions through their good deeds and positive contributions to the city or police department.
Locust Elementary student Autumn Huneycutt was given the inaugural award for 2021 after selling many of her own toys at a yard sale to help raise money for a LPD charity event; Walmart loss prevention associate Travis McKinney and LPD Chaplain Mario Miller were the recipients of the honor for 2022 and 2023, respectively.
In a public letter written by Shew, Locust’s police chief detailed that the city’s police department has always had a “stellar working relationship” with the Locust Walmart, but noted that bond reached a peak during Mitchell’s time as the store’s general manager.
“Thank you for the outstanding job you did while serving here and representing the very best of the city of Locust,” Shew wrote.
The city’s police chief noted Cagle’s assistance with local charity work, detailing that — without being asked — Cagle set up Walmart donation bins for Locust Elementary school supply drives and disaster relief supply aid drives for western North Carolina.
Cagle also regularly delivered food and snack items to the LPD to recognize the department’s officers and benefit both its Junior Detective Summer Camp program and annual Shop With a Cop initiative.
The Locust Police Department’s 2025 Citizen of the Year will be announced during the first Locust City Council meeting of 2026.