Rotary Club Recognizes Local First Responders
Recently the Rotary Club of Niceville-Valparaiso took the opportunity to say thank you to a few of our everyday heroes for all the great work they do to keep our community safe and secure. These first responders truly live the Rotary motto of Service Above Self. In February, the Rotary Club of Niceville-Valparaiso recognized the top police officers, firefighters and emergency medical technicians for 2021 from each of our local departments for their outstanding service to our community. The award recipients included: Niceville Fire Department Firefighter of the Year, Firefighter Jason Maines; Valparaiso Fire Department Firefighter of the Year, Lieutenant Timothy “Alex” Winkler; Niceville Police Department Officer of the Year, Officer Sierra “Sadie” Eakins; Valparaiso Police Department Officer of the Year, Officer Jason Lecuyer; East Niceville Fire District Firefighter of the Year, Deputy Fire Chief Jon Kramer; North Bay Fire District Firefighter of the Year, Firefighter Brett McDaniel; Eglin Air Force Base (AFB) Security Forces Airman of the Year, Senior Airman Christina Jagiello; Eglin AFB Security Forces Noncommissioned Officer of the Year, Technical Sergeant Daniel Brewer; Eglin AFB Security Forces Senior Noncommissioned Officer of the Year, Master Sergeant Floyd Ford; Eglin AFB Security Forces Company Grade Officer of the Year, First Lieutenant Christopher Young; Eglin AFB Security Forces Category I Civilian of the Year, Officer Daryl Culberson; Eglin AFB Security Forces Category II Civilian of the Year, Officer Lawrence Holst; Eglin AFB Military Firefighter of the Year, Staff Sergeant Dominick Kelly; Eglin AFB Fire Department Civilian Firefighter of the Year, Mr. Ellis Nutt; Eglin AFB Fire Department Military Fire Officer of the Year, Technical Sergeant Travis Cumpston; Eglin AFB Fire Department Civilian Fire Officer of the Year, Mr. Robert “Bobby” Manby; Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office Deputy of the Year, Deputy Eric Swain. We are proud of the accomplishments of these first responders, and we are grateful for their efforts to make the Twin Cities area a safer place to live.
Democratic Women’s Club of Walton County Hosts two Women Veterans
The Democratic Women’s Club of Walton County hosts two women Veterans who speak about their service Tuesday, March 29, 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. at the Sunset Bay Cafe in Sandestin.
Kayla Buck is a veteran of the U. S. Air Force and the Air Force Reserves who served in Germany, Kuwait and Iraq, and also stateside, continuing her education, and then attending Air Force Intelligence operations school. She served in the Air Force Reserves from 2000-2012, and worked as a contractor with the Air Force, in Iraq and at Hurlburt Field AFB.
Julie Jones is a veteran of the U.S. Navy who served one six-month deployment in the Mediterranean Sea and three six-month Persian Gulf deployments, as well as serving in several locations stateside. She attended Intelligence Specialist School, at the Navy and Marine Corps Intelligence Training Command. (NMITC) She served in the Navy from 1988-2008, and also worked as a contractor at Langley AFB, Hurlburt Field AFB, and Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar.
To attend, visit waltoncountydwc.org and register.
4th Annual Mac & Cheese Festival Supersedes Previous Years
The 4th Annual Mac & Cheese Festival held on Sunday, March 6, 2022, at Destin Commons was a record-breaking success. The event raised $65,000 and welcomed roughly 1,500 attendees throughout the day. Proceeds from the event benefit the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Emerald Coast. “Our fourth Mac-N-Cheese Festival was a huge success and thoroughly outperformed our own expectations. We are extremely thankful to all that attended, all of our cooking participants, Destin Commons, and all of our sponsors for making this year’s event amazing. Every cent raised through this event will make an impact on the over 4,000 youth we serve on an annual basis,” said Shervin Rassa, Chief Executive Officer, The Boys & Girls Club of the Emerald Coast.
Award winners are as follows:
Judge’s Choice: Jackacuda’s Seafood and Sushi
People’s Choice: Smoke N’ Whiskey BBQ
Kid’s Choice: Dixieland Chicken
OCSO 2021 Deputy of the Year Eric Swain
Deputy Eric Swain was named the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office 2021 Deputy of The Year!
After being hired in 2016, Deputy Swain began working patrol and instantly became “that deputy” on shift, a solid officer and significant resource for supervisors and teammates. He has proven himself essential for helping promote squad cohesion and professional relationships. Deputy Swain is well known as a quality field training officer. He remains highly motivated and has excellent interpersonal skills, common sense, professional aptitude and genuine humility. Among all, he has the power of a positive attitude when it comes to getting things accomplished. Deputy Swain recently achieved a well-deserved promotion to investigator in late December 2021. During 2021, Deputy (Investigator) Swain trained a total of 10 newly-hired deputies, providing over 1,680 total training hours. His total duty time was over 1,830 hours. Further, he consistently mentored shift mates, yet still found time to handle his own casework. He arrested 41 law violators and generated 88 offense reports outlining his investigations. All that’s in addition to the trainees receiving credit for cases under his influence or helping others. In 2021, Deputy Swain was voted on by his shift mates and supervisors for his nomination. Supervisors noted his constant proactive attitude, knowledge, and willingness to put the shift first.” Others commented on how he is “highly respected and sought-out by his peers and supervisors alike.” Another called him a gentle giant –someone you want at scenes with you as backup and, at the same time, someone who wants to help you with cases and help victims – any and every time.” Here is just one example of his countless cases of solid work: he responded to a business burglary, canvassing the area for video. He located footage and identified a suspect. He then located and interviewed the man, obtaining a confession. The suspect admitted he had committed several burglaries to the business.
