POLSON — It was always Wade Nash’s goal to be a sheriff. But…

“It’s kind of funny how your goals change throughout your career,” Nash said.

On Thursday, Dec. 22, Nash achieved his amended goal when he was named the new Polson Police Chief, succeeding Doug Chase, who spent nine years on the job.

“Obviously, I have very huge shoes to fill,” Nash said. “Doug Chase is quite the mentor and was certainly a blessing in my life.”

A criminal justice graduate of Linn-Benton Community College, Nash’s first taste of Polson came back in 1994, when he passed through the area and liked what he saw.

“I came through on vacation in 1994 and I really enjoyed the area,” Nash said. “It’s beautiful. For some reason, I always wanted to come back here. I didn’t really know anybody.”

Nash moved to Polson from Eugene, Ore. three years later, where he met his wife, Tracy. The two were married in 2004 and have two children: 6-year-old son Keyen and 2-year-old daughter Kyrsa.

Though in fun a competitive guy by nature, Nash is active in several aspects of the community, including youth sports, where he’s on the board for Polson baseball. He’s also an assistant baseball and soccer coach, something he’s been doing since before he even had children.

Another one of Nash’s true loves has always been the outdoors, which is no surprise considering his move to Polson. Whether it’s camping, fishing, hunting or snowboarding (and the list goes on), Nash is usually out and about during his free time.

“I’m a very avid steelhead fisherman,” Nash said. “I go to Idaho every year, either in March or April and spend quite a bit of time over there camping.”

Ice fishing has also recently become a hobby of Nash’s, though his first time out didn’t go as swimmingly as he might have preferred.

“When I first moved here, I went with a couple guys from the sheriff’s office, we went to Lone Pine Reservoir,” Nash said, smiling. “We were walking out there and all of a sudden I started seeing the ice crack. It’s not even bothering them. I’m like, “whoa.” They’re like, “no, come on, come on.” I ended up sitting in the pickup truck for four hours. The more I went with people I met, they assured me it was safe.”

Nash, one of three in-house candidates for the police chief position, has much more experience in law enforcement than on a frozen pond. He’s held a myriad of titles in his 14 years in Lake County, starting out as a detention officer before working his way through the sheriff’s office, working on dispatch and as a deputy. In 2002, Nash was assigned to the Northwest Drug Task Force as a narcotics agent, where he worked for three years. He then became a patrol sergeant for the sheriff’s office until 2007, when he was recruited by Chase to join the Polson Police Department for the same position.

According to Polson City Manager Todd Crossett, that, along with several of Nash’s personal qualities, helped him stand out against two other highly-qualified candidates throughout the three-month process.

“We went through a lengthy process including an in-depth job description, job and communication analysis with a diverse interview committee,” Crossett said. “After lengthy deliberation because all three candidates were outstanding, Nash’s experience, tremendous training, leadership, high energy and his real talent for communicating were the reasons he was named police chief.”

The search for Chase’s replacement was opened internally because the police department felt as if they had a good culture in place.

“We liked that we had a positive, high-functioning culture and we had a lot of qualified leadership,” Crossett said.

Part of that culture has been Nash, who said his favorite part of being in law enforcement has been the people. In 2010, Nash was one of the people who plunged into a river after a man who jumped off a bridge, which earned him an award. That’s just one example of his commitment to Polson.

“I like people and dealing with people,” Nash said. “You’re not going to always make people happy, but if you do things for the right reasons, it’s enjoyable and satisfying.”

As the new police chief, Nash hopes to maintain and strengthen ties between the police office and the community, especially when it comes to communication.

“I feel like we have a strong working relationship with the community, but I also think we can be involved in our community a little more than we are,” Nash said. “I want to implement a training officer for the city. With the liabilities that law enforcement is faced with in today’s society, it just seems like that’s something we haven’t had. As time progresses, we grow, and that’s going to be a positive thing.”

Nash doesn’t plan on making any drastic changes, rather is looking to “proceed with professionalism and integrity” and is very excited at the prospect of his new position.

“I’m looking forward to the opportunity to serve the community,” Nash said. “They’re going to receive the support from the office and the service that is dedicated to them. We work for the community and we’ll make sure they’re happy with the service that we’re providing them.”

Nash’s brief tenure hasn’t gone entirely smoothly, however. Allegations are circulating throughout several local media outlets that indicate Nash may be involved in state-level investigations regarding illegal wildlife activity by Lake County law enforcement.

“I feel that when that comes around, people will realize that just because it’s an allegation, there’s not necessarily proof to it,” Nash said. “Anybody can make an allegation. Unfortunately, that’s something that we’re going to deal with and it’s going to come up and I’ll deal with it when the time is right.”

Crossett was made aware of one such allegation, but after looking into it, determined that it was 100 percent fabricated.

“I’ve seen no charges of any kind,” Crossett said. “We did a background check. There are no accusations of any substance, so until I see something, no such things exist.”

Nevertheless, judging by his law enforcement experience and work in Lake County throughout his 14 years of service, Polson has a man ready for the challenge and the opportunity in front of him. Nash’s new goal has officially been realized.