The Rotary Clubs of Orange, Orange North and Orange Plaza joined together, once again, to present the 41st Annual Police and Fire Recognition Awards to outstanding members of the City of Orange departments.  The lunch event was held April 30th with the Orange City Council in attendance to support the honorees.

Fire Chief Patrick Dibb presented citations and plaques to Explorer Fire Fire Fighter of the Year Nathan Ramos, Fire Reserve Inspector Mohammad Soubra, Fire Manager of the Year Doug Fackiner, Non-Sworn Employee of the Year Rosie Flores, and Firefighter of the Year Robert Lobato.

Police Chief Bob Gustafson honored Police Volunteer of the Year Will Stoddard, Police Explorer Riley Turner, Non-Sworn Employee Kelly Pagano, Reserve Officer of the Year Mike Silva, Supervisor Sgt. David Natividad and Police Officer of the Year Rene Guerrero.

The honorees are selected by their peers and supervisors in the Orange Police and Fire Departments.

In addition to co-sponsoring the luncheon (including meal costs for the attendees and coordinating the awards program), the Rotary Clubs of Orange made special presentations this year to both Chief Dibbs and Chief Gustafson.  Each has served the community for 30 years or more and have trained and mentored generations of public servants.

The event was chaired this year by Orange Rotarians Jay Carr and Matt Drenner, under the tutorship of outgoing chair Bill Steiner.  Additional committee members included Livia De Los Rios and Gayle Merino (Orange Rotary), Joe Colombo and Teri Snyder (Orange Plaza) and Bill Utter of the Rotary Club of Orange North.