Next week’s edition of County Hall Corner will highlight the Lycoming County Sheriff Mark Lusk. Given the incredible activities he has done in the past decades, his accomplishments would be better shown in a book rather than a column. But it is worth following up on the article in this issue on fire company young volunteers by giving a real-life example in our midst — Sheriff Mark Lusk.
Mark Lusk was a Loyalsock Township student in the 1970s. Even then, he was an ambitious young man. He was chairman of the Senior Class Prom and senior class president in 1976.
What really caught his eye was the Loyalsock High School Senior Professional and Career Experience Program, S.P.A.C.E. for short. This was a very aggressive intern program, but it seemed to be right up Mark’s alley. Mr. Warren, the class advisor, suggested that Mark consider becoming a police cadet for the Old Lycoming Police Department (OLPD).
This is a shining example of the interaction between mentors and their proteges. They could be parents or relatives, but it can be anyone who is promoting or supporting a young person’s growth and success, especially in a professional or academic context.
Even as a little boy, Mark Lusk’s interests were parked on fire, ambulance, and police. Mr. Warren and another mentor, Mr. Casale, saw this ‘fire’ in him and encouraged him to consider going in that direction. It did not take much pushing, as Mark had been hanging around the Old Lycoming Fire Company so much that he considered the fire chief his uncle. (But Mark was wise enough to always call him “chief.”)
But he also had a strong itch for law enforcement as well. For two years under the S.P.A.C.E. program, Lusk gave some 2,000 hours of volunteer time with the (OLPD). It seemed to fit him like a glove.
After graduating from Loyalsock HS in 1976, he thought about college, but he felt like he had a home in law enforcement, and it was available in the present. In 1977, he was offered a patrolman appointment for OLPD, and he took it.
As they say, “The rest is history.” He has continued to go up the ladder to this very day. He would go on to be a teacher/trainer/instructor in fire and police and even coroner certification. As next week’s article will highlight, Mark Lusk’s initiatives have literally changed Lycoming County.
And it all started with being a volunteer, and he has never stopped being one. The man lives to help others. Whether it is speaking to senior citizens about safety or public forums on conceal/carry of firearms or just helping a person who might be lost in the Lycoming County Courthouse (which I have done on more than one occasion), Mark does it with vigor. He states, “I have the grace of God to help people.”
And his passion is recognized by his peers. In 2017, he was elected as President of the Pennsylvania Sheriff’s Association. The Secret Service sent a special appreciation letter to Sheriff Lusk, who was the inner perimeter commander for President Trump’s two visits in 2019 and 2020. Obviously, being elected for four terms with some 80 percent of the voters supporting him, it is obvious that this man is very, very special.
And it all started by being a volunteer.
