Space Coast Public Service Awards Recognizes Larry Schultz With Lifetime Achievement Award

SPACE COAST PSA HALL OF FAME NOMINEE

NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR:  In every community there are great men and women who have, by their strength of will and character, become ingrained in the consciousness of our society. They are doers and risk takers who have made a stand and a commitment for the common-good. They are labeled as public servants, but they are truly our natural leaders whose legacies are the milestones of our progress.

The Public Service Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes public service professionals who have dedicated years of service during a distinguished career where they significantly advanced the public safety or service profession, and by substantial service, has furthered the cause of justice and the mission of community service. The award is presented to a deserving individual (living or deceased) who has taken a long-term leadership role in a public or community service profession. Recipients of this award are recognized for making extraordinary contributions and sacrifices through a body of work that positively impacted their organization and community over their lifetime.

DEDICATED SERVANT LEAD ROCKLEDGE FOR 26 YEARS

BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA – In Rockledge, Florida, the name Larry Schultz is instantly synonymous with the words “public service leader.”

Whether it relates to citizenship, church, school, organized sports, or the varied local government organizations which he once served, former Rockledge Mayor Larry Schultz paved the way to a promising future for the City of Rockledge, Brevard County, the State of Florida, the Cities of America, and the Final Frontier – Space.

Schultz retired from NASA at the Kennedy Space Center as a genuine “rocket scientist.”

In the community outside local government, Schultz served for 18 years as the Chairman of the Board for the Trinity Lutheran School, a highly-respected Christian school that during his tenure grew from its original pre-school program to an expanded educational program that now includes kindergarten and grades 1 through 8.

Since his initial election as a Rockledge City Councilman in 1977, Schultz enjoyed an uninterrupted 26-year tenure – 21 years as Councilman and the last five as Mayor – with six of those years presiding as chairman of the seven-member council that comprises the Council/Manager form of government for the City of Rockledge.

Schultz’s exceptional foresight and willingness to take calculated risks have been most obviously realized in the construction of new public facilities, such as the City Hall, the Police Station, and two of the three existing Fire Stations.

Not so obvious is the fact that Rockledge has a state-of-the-art Wastewater Treatment & Water Reclamation facility that has eliminated any and all disposal of sewer effluent into the Indian River, and boasts a deep-well injection system and a 3-million-gallon storage tank for water reclamation; at this time, water reclamation lines continue to be installed in phases to accommodate the public user, with future plans for another storage tank.

In conjunction with his service to the City of Rockledge, Schultz became involved in the Space Coast League of Cities, an organization of representatives from municipalities in Brevard County who serve to protect and support the common interests of those same municipalities. He served two separate terms as its president.

Having been a member of the FLC Board of Directors since 1988 and serving on and chairing many of its other committees, Schultz was eventually elected as 2nd and 1st Vice President, respectively, of the League.

In August of 1995, members of the Rockledge Executive Staff, along with Larry’s constituents from throughout the state, witnessed the installation of Schultz as President of the Florida League of Cities, the only elected official from Brevard County to ever hold the position.

It is likely that he has received a great number more awards and honors over the years, but his humble and modest character conceals any evidence of such bestowals – except for one.

In 1996, then Councilman Schultz was chosen as an outstanding community leader in the American Hometown Leadership Award Program sponsored by the National Association of Towns and Townships.

PUBLISHER’S NOTE: Space Coast Daily is very proud to sponsor and produce the first annual Space Coast Public Service Awards and Hall of Fame Induction, which will be held Saturday, September 24 at the King Center for the Performing Arts on the campus of Eastern Florida State College in Melbourne. With all the seemingly endless politically-charged negative rhetoric in the media aimed at our first responders, we felt it was time as a media entity to make a statement and give these men and women the respect and support they deserve. The public is invited and encouraged to attend this compelling event where all proceeds will benefit the Brevard County Public Safety Charity.

Seating for this celebration of these outstanding public servants is now available, so don’t delay in making your reservation. The festivities will include a meet-and-greet with our outstanding public servants, food and drink, and the induction proceeding – which will feature compelling video tributes.

All proceeds of this event will go to the Brevard County Public Safety Charity which benefits our law enforcement officers and firefighters in their time of need. These funds will help our public safety members when they face critical challenges such as medical emergencies, long term illness or even the tragedy of a line of duty death. This charity organization is designed to help protect those that protect us. 

For additional information about the Brevard County Public Safety Charity, please contact Sue Parker at Sue.Parker@BCSO.us.

– Tom Palermo, Space Coast Daily President & Publisher

FOR MORE INFORMATION about the Space Coast Public Service Awards and Hall of Fame Induction, call 321-615-8111 or 321-323-4460.

CLICK HERE TO OBTAIN TICKETS TODAY

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE AUG/SEP 2016 EDITION

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