Members of the UCF Police Department gathered at the FAIRWINDS Alumni Center Wednesday to celebrate a year of hard work, success and partnerships.

Staff members and community partners were honored for their contributions with awards presented by UCF Police Chief Richard Beary and Deputy Chiefs Carl Metzger and Brett Meade.

Community Relations Ofc. Peter Stephens received the Officer of the Year Award for his enthusiastic community outreach. In 2014, Ofc. Stephens dedicated hundreds of hours to community projects, including orientation sessions for new students and their parents, self-defense classes for women and property engraving and registration for students.

K-9 Ofc. Christopher Holt earned the Life-Saving Award for his work in October to help a woman experiencing a seizure. Ofc. Holt found the individual unresponsive and provided CPR until paramedics arrived.

Other department awardees included:

  • Supervisor of the Year: Sgt. Dale Dennany, Training Division
  • Employee of the Year: Alexandra Larkin, Special Events Division
  • Dispatcher of the Year: Rebeca Alonso, Communications Division
  • Community Service Officer of the Year: Randoph Sulter, Fleet Division
  • Victim Advocate of the Year: Fawn Bolak, Victim Services
  • Safe Escort Patroler of the Year: Kyle Sidelar
  • Chief’s Award: Courtney Gilmartin, Public Information Officer
  • Unit Citations: K-9 Unit and SEPS (Safe Escort Patrol Service)

    • UCF staff members who helped to develop, plan and execute a full-scale emergency exercise and corresponding active shooter training on campus in March were honored for their contributions to a successful learning opportunity for campus and regional first-responders. They included:

  • Ofc. Anthony Merola for coordination of the active shooter component
  • Ofc. Adam Casebolt for assistance with planning and site security
  • Ari Schein, training and exercises coordinator for the Office of Emergency Management, for leadership of the mass casualty exercise
  • Alexandra Larkin for logistics planning and role player coordination
  • Carl Truesdell for videography coordination
  • Breanne Tucker for exercise planning and intelligence

    • In addition, members of the community were thanked for their support of the UCF Police Department and its efforts to protect the campus. Awardees included:

  • Ed Reyes for his service in certification of UCFPD’s K-9 units
  • Rick Mitchell, Alex Giraldo, and Tim and Shannon Arft for their donations to allow UCFPD to participate in the Officer Robert “Robbie” German Memorial Softball Tournament
  • Naser Baker for his assistance with UCFPD patrol cars and continued support throughout the year

    • Chief Beary and Deputy Chiefs Metzger and Meade also were recognized for outstanding achievements outside of UCF.

    Chief Beary has since October served as president of the International Association of Chiefs of Police, a 22,000-member organization that supports law enforcement leaders throughout the world. As part of his role, Chief Beary has traveled across the world for the past several months to advocate for law enforcement.

    Deputy Chief Metzger on April 20 completed the Boston Marathon, using it as an opportunity to raise money charity. More than $1,500 was donated to Cops For Kids With Cancer, a charity that provides comfort and support to families impacted by cancer.

    Deputy Chief Meade on Tuesday successfully defended his dissertation and will this summer earn an Ed.D. in organizational leadership from North Central University, based in Arizona.