BREVARD COUNTY • PALM BAY, FLORIDA — Interim Palm Bay Police Chief Mark Renkens, and members of the department command staff, presented annual awards to department employees during a special awards banquet held Thursday evening.
The awards were for 2014 Officer and Civilian of the Year, Meritorious Service, Distinguished Service Cross, Life Saving and Community Service.
Chief Renkens presented the 2014 Officer of the Year award to Officer Nick Szczepanski who has been with the department for nearly six years.
In 2014 he received a departmental Life Saving Award for his actions in saving the life of a suicidal individual and in another incident where he helped save the occupants of a townhouse that was on fire.
Officer Szczepanski conducted several drug investigations that yielded felony charges and removed dangerous drugs from Palm Bay neighborhoods.
Mark Renkens
“Officer Szczepanski routinely displays a thorough expertise of policy and uses sound judgement in his investigations,” said Chief Renkens.
“He is an exceptional representation of our organization and our mission to protect and serve and we are proud to present him with this award.”
The 2014 Civilian of the Year was presented to Code Compliance Officer Arlene Reckard.
During 2014 Reckard served as acting supervisor of the Code Compliance team following the retirement of then supervisor Bill Martinez.
She continued to provide distinguished service until a new supervisor was selected. Reckard led the team during critical manpower shortages and increased workloads.
“Arlene embodies leadership and routinely leads her coworkers in an effort for the team to succeed as a whole,” said Chief Renkens.
“She does not seek recognition for the acts she performs and views her leadership role as part of the job. She has earned the right to be named our 2014 Civilian of the Year.”
Other award recipients were:
Captain Nelson Moya of the Palm Bay Police Command Staff, left, with Officer CJ Woronka, right, was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross award by the Palm Bay Police Department. (Image for SpaceCoastDaily.com)
Distinguished Service Cross
• Officer Cassandra “CJ” Woronka
LIFE SAVING:
• Sgt. Michael Roberts
• Officer Amy Revis
• Officer Nicholas Dennis
• Officer Christopher Hurtado
• Officer Nicholas Szczepanski
COMMUNITY SERVICE:
• Sgt. Michael Roberts
• Johnnie Johnson, Community Service
Arlene Reckard
• Officer Chris Jones, Community Service
• Detective Lewis Jones, Community Service
• Officer Melissa Rogers, Community Service
• Officer Wanda Mendez, Community Service
MERITORIOUS SERVICE:
• Officer Mark Trammell
• Officer Lin Badman
William Capote
“On behalf of the entire city council I want to congratulate all of our officers and civilians for the work they do every day,” said Mayor William Capote.
“We are all so proud of their dedication to duty, their selfless acts of courage and doing whatever it takes to make sure our city is safe. We thank each and every one of them for their service.”
The awards were for 2014 Officer and Civilian of the Year, Meritorious Service, Distinguished Service Cross, Life Saving and Community Service.
