Rotary Clubs honor nine police officers, firefighters

Texarkana Rotary Clubs honored nine Public Safety Officers of the Year at a special event Wednesday.

An audience of about 250 elected officials, family, friends and colleagues recognized the standout firefighters and law enforcement officers at Rotary's 36th annual Public Safety Officers Appreciation Luncheon.

Each Officer of the Year's home agency nominated him for the award. Arkansas-side Mayor Ruth Penney-Bell and Texas-side Mayor Bob Bruggeman introduced the recipients and presented them with gifts. The honorees were:

• Officer Michael Bryan of Texarkana, Ark., Police Department, for his efforts to build a basketball court for local children and for expert handling of critical fingerprint evidence;
• Driver Engineer Jason Applegate of Texarkana, Texas, Fire Department, for rescuing two people from rapid flood waters, saving their lives;
• Engineer Shane Richardson of Texarkana, Ark., Fire Department, for providing first aid that saved five lives on five separate occasions this year;
• Deputy Westin Fannin of Bowie County Sheriff's Office, for leadership in self-initiated activity, including arresting combative suspects in rural areas;
• Sgt. Alan Keller of Miller County Sheriff's Department, for outstanding service, including work on a multijurisdictional task force;
• Officer Colten Johnson of Texarkana, Texas, Police Department, for making more than 200 arrests this year, including 25 for felony drug offenses and 10 for felony firearms offenses;
• Cpl. Seth Pinner of Arkansas State Police, for outstanding service, including participation in several high-profile SWAT team responses;
• Trooper III David Stewart of Texas Department of Public Safety, for rescuing a pregnant woman from her car and a family from their home during recent flooding; and
• Officer John Morgan Garrett of Nash, Texas, Police Department, for administering life-saving first aid to a seriously injured victim of a major vehicle accident.

Walt Coleman, an executive with Little Rock's Hiland Dairy and a referee in his 28th season with the National Football League, delivered the luncheon's keynote speech.

Coleman shared some humorous anecdotes about the criticism he has received from NFL fans, pointing out that public safety officers also often receive only negative attention. He compared the law enforcement officers and firefighters in the audience with the "invisible" offensive linemen on a football team, whose jobs are all-important but who rarely are acknowledged unless they commit a penalty.

"What we have in this room is a whole roomful of offensive linemen. That's what we have here: hard-working, dedicated people who all they would do is be the best they could be. And in most cases, the only time you'll ever get your name called is when something goes wrong," he said.

Coleman encouraged the officers to "turn boos into cheers" by remembering how important their jobs are to their communities, despite others' focus on negativity.

A few minutes into Coleman's speech, about eight on-duty TAFD firefighters suddenly had to leave in response to a dispatch call that could be heard from a radio on their table.

"Go get it done, guys," Coleman said as they ran to the door, applauded by the audience.

The Oaklawn, Sunrise, Texarkana International and Wilbur Smith Rotary Clubs cosponsored the event, which was held at First United Methodist Church's Cabe Center. Silver Star Smokehouse served a barbecue lunch, and Be the Blessing Bakery provided dessert.