"I knew the award is out there, but it floored me," he said.
The award came Wednesday after Brown finished his 29th year with the Rusk County office, a year marked with high-profile cases.
"Getting the KFC indictments was a big deal," said District Attorney Michael Jimerson, who nominated Brown for the award. "William has been active on that case all these years."
Two men were indicted in November on five counts of murder for the 1983 abduction and killing of five people from a Kilgore Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant.
Other trials, including a perjury trial for one of the KFC murder suspects in October, a racing trial for David Reid in July and a murder trial for Daniel Latham, also brought heavy media attention in 2005.
Jimerson said Brown deserved the award because of his integrity and honesty.
"He takes pride in his credibility," Jimerson said. "He doesn't even lie to crooks. His whole career has been marked by him being honorable."
Jimerson added that sometimes Brown's reputation for honesty is so overwhelming, it almost hurts him. Brown is active in First Baptist Church of Henderson, has lived in the area for years, referees football games and worked at a funeral home on the weekends, so almost everyone knows him.
"It's getting harder to pick a jury in this county," he said. "We had to send a lady home because she said that if William said it, it must be so."
While Brown was attended the investigators' meeting, he was also elected as a member of the board of directors of the association. "If they are good enough to honor me, I can serve them," he said.
The board governs the investigators' sector of the association and hold training sessions for investigators statewide.
A reception for Brown will be held at noon Thursday in Rusk County Judge Clay Gossett's courtroom.
Sara Foley covers Upshur, Cherokee & Rusk counties. She can be reached at 903.596-6266.
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