Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd and Executive Staff members of the Polk County Sheriff’s Office will recognize law enforcement, detention, civilian, and volunteer members of the agency this evening, May 20, 2008, at 5:30 p.m. at Nora Mayo Hall in Winter Haven at the 2008 Annual Awards ceremony, for their exemplary efforts made last year. On hand to help recognize these members will be several county elected officials and administrators, as well as state and federal law enforcement officials.
Each year, PCSO holds an awards ceremony naming the deputy sheriff, detention deputy, civilian, reserve deputy sheriff, and volunteer of the year. Additionally, Medals of Valor, Meritorious Service Medals, and other various awards are handed out to those members who went above and beyond the call of duty during the previous year. The Marshall Anderson Award is a special award given to those agency members who overcame physical hardships last year, and several members will be receiving this award as well.
Among the list of this year’s recipients are Deputy Sheriff Joe Murphy and Deputy Sheriff Shannon Rimes, who are receiving Medals of Valor for defusing a dangerous situation at the River Ranch Hunt Club where a gunman with an out‐of‐state warrant exchanged several rounds of fire with both deputies from a heavily wooded area. The deputies were able to prevent his escape and apprehend him without injury to themselves or others.
Other examples of awards include commendations to members who saved the agency money using innovative programs they designed; achieved accreditation at the Polk Community College Kenneth C. Thompson Institute of Public Safety; excelled at being a youth mentor on and off duty; and who were instrumental in bringing about successful conclusions to large scale investigations.
The Members of the Year will be named during the ceremony—there are several candidates for each of these awards. “Our annual awards ceremony is a special time of year that we all look forward to,” said Sheriff Grady Judd. “We hope that you will join us this year in recognizing the members who put their lives on the line every day to keep the people of Polk County safe, and the hard‐working support staff who make it all possible.”