CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Five public safety “heroes” are being recognized for their service in Charleston.
The honorees were announced Tuesday during the 13th Annual Charleston Public Safety Council Luncheon at the Four Points by Sheraton.
Every year, the council salutes those from the Charleston Police Department, the Charleston Fire Department and Kanawha County Metro 911.
Valerie George Ellis, board president for the CPSC, said the officers and first responders dedicate their lives to protecting others.
“These people are out there doing this every day for us. They don’t know what they’re going to face from day to day. New situations pop up, but they’re there to do it without questioning what their role is. They just dig in and do it and we’re so proud of them,” George Ellis said.
Retired Charleston Police Chief Brent Webster was given a special recognition.
“Chief Webster has been a part of our organization either by making sure that he had officers to sit on our board so that we could be aware of what was going on or partnering with us to do different programs,” George Ellis said. “We just wanted to thank him for all his good service.
Webster left the police department in August to become the city’s Public Works Director after Gary Taylor retired. Steve Cooper, former chief of detectives, now serves as Charleston’s Police Chief.
The council also honored junior cadets from the CPD’s Junior Cadet Leadership Academy at Tuesday’s luncheon.
“Sometimes people come to us to help. The police department asked us ‘can you help us get this junior academy off the ground?’ We were very pleased to do that because this is getting young people in touch with what it really means to work in the police field and to make your community safe,” George Ellis said.
Police Officer Jerry Jones, a Charleston firefighter, a Charleston firefighter EMS worker, an EMT telecommunicator and retired Police Chief Brent Webster make up the 2017 honorees.
The first responders and public servants were selected by heads of their respective divisions.
“When you can have someone that rises above all the good that everyone else does to give that little extra touch or that little extra concern, we want to recognize that,” George Ellis said.
October is Public Safety National Month.