For nearly 25 years, Cass County Sheriff Joseph Underwood has worked day-in and day-out with a single goal in mind — to ensure the safety and security of his fellow Cass County residents.

Whether it was implementing policies that slashed the annual traffic fatalities by more than half or establishing a golf outing to raise money for scholarships for the next generation of law enforcement, the Cassopolis man has established an impressive legacy as Cass County’s top police officer.

If you ask Underwood about the key to this success, though, he would attribute very little to own abilities and a great deal to those of the men and women he has worked with in his more than four decades in law enforcement.

“It was never about ‘I,’” Underwood said, addressing a packed house inside the Dowagiac Elk’s Lodge Wednesday evening. “It was about ‘we,’ about what we as a department thought we needed to do and about we as a community.”

The members of the Greater Dowagiac Chamber of Commerce recognized the longtime sheriff for his dedication to the people of Cass County during the chamber’s annual awards ceremony Wednesday. More than 100 people attended the ceremony, where the chamber gave Underwood — who will retire at the end of the year — its Lifetime Achievement award.

It was the second time in as many years that the chamber rewarded a pillar of the greater Dowagiac area with the distinction. Last year, the chamber members recognized Fred Mathews, the founding board chairman of Southwestern Michigan College, for his numerous contributions to Dowagiac and Cass County.

Mathews, while unable to attend Wednesday’s ceremony in person, was still present in spirit as Chamber President Kim MacGregor read some comments the retired optometrist emailed to the chamber in advance of Underwood’s recognition.

“Because of your leadership these many years, I know of nowhere in the U.S. where I feel as safe as I do in Cass County,” MacGregor said, quoting Mathews. “Not only have you served with efficiency, but with class.”

Also speaking during the ceremony was State Sen. John Proos, who presented Underwood with a special tribute from the Michigan State Legislature for his years of service to Cass County. The senator said that the care and dignity that the county’s deputies show for the public comes from the top down.

“[Underwood] has always acted in a way that would be best for all of you, the people of Cass County, the people of this entire region,” Proos said. “Never once did he do something that was best for him. That selflessness is unique, and an example for all of us.”

Underwood, who served as Cass County Sheriff for the past 24 years, has been a fixture of the county law enforcement community for more than 40 years.

The son of a Vandalia village marshal, Underwood joined the Dowagiac Police Department in 1971 after serving overseas with the U.S. Army in Vietnam, where he received a Purple Heart. Two years later, Underwood became a deputy with the Cass County Sheriff’s Office, working his ways through the ranks as a detective and an undersheriff before being elected as sheriff in 1992.

For Underwood, many of accomplishments he and his office have made in his years of service are the result of collaboration with other entities, he said. Some examples of this are his office working with the Cass County Board of Commissioners to pay for increased road patrols to curb reckless driving on county roads, partnering with the Dowagiac Police Department to create the county’s drug enforcement team or teaming up with SMC to help provide scholarships to local students, Underwood said.

“It is not about me — it is about the people of Cass County, wanting the same things we do for our kids and for our futures,” Underwood said.