Backed by Lt. M.L. Perry (left), Officer David Diogo accepts a plaque as officer of the year from Optimist Club President Bob Gorham.
The new assistant fire chief, a sheriff’s deputy who’s a Marine Corps veteran and a police officer who has faced down a minister’s public criticism received awards from the Henderson Optimist Club at a luncheon this afternoon.
It was the Optimist Club’s annual Respect for the Law Luncheon, which club President Bob Gorham said goes back as far any current Optimists can remember. The luncheon drew about 30 Henderson police officers, Vance County sheriff’s deputies, state Highway Patrol troopers, Henderson-Vance firefighters and others to the Police Training Center off Oxford Road for a buffet from Smithfield’s Chicken ’N Bar-B-Q.
Western Vance High School Principal Eric Pierce organized the event as the chairman of the Optimists’ Respect for Law Committee.
The mix of tan, gray and blue uniforms with civilian clothes added to the casual feel of the afternoon, whose primary purpose was to thank “the very dedicated public servants out there,” Gorham said. “We’ll continue to do this for many years to come.”
Some of the officers had to eat and run, and pagers and public safety radios provided the soundtrack to the brief ceremony.
The ceremony wasn’t fancy, but it was meaningful: The Optimists awarded plaques to single representatives of the Henderson Police Department, the Vance Sheriff’s Office and the Henderson Fire Department. Each department chose its own winner for recognition as officer of the year.
“It makes us all feel like we’re appreciated,” police Capt. Charles Crumpler said of the luncheon.
For the Police Department, the Optimist honor went to Officer David Diogo, who has been a Henderson officer since fall 1999.
Police Chief Glen Allen, who was out of town Sunday, said Thursday that Diogo earned the recognition because “he has worked his butt off” in the past year, despite operating under a cloud created by the Rev. C.J. Dale.
Dale criticized Diogo before the City Council last year, then pushed for a State Bureau of Investigation inquiry into Diogo and others after the officer stopped the minister on Interstate 85 one night. The SBI refused to investigate.
In presenting the award to Diogo, Crumpler did not mention Dale by name, but he did refer to the “negative stuff” that the police officer III should not have been forced to deal with.
After the past year, “it means a great deal for me to be the one to present this award today,” Crumpler said.
He said Diogo was named officer of the month three times.
Crumpler cited Diogo’s work with K-9 Okar, his partner for three years. Crumpler mentioned an armed-robbery suspect Diogo and Okar collared after tracking him for a mile.
“I feel very grateful, very appreciative,” Diogo said after the ceremony, which his wife attended with him.
He said he’s thankful for the support the Police Department has shown him in the past year.
“This is a team effort, and this award is for the department,” Diogo said.
Deputy Sean Brake shows his plaque as the Sheriff’s Office officer of the year.
The honoree with the least time with his department today was sheriff’s Deputy Sean Brake, who joined the Vance Sheriff’s Office in May 2001 after completing Basic Law Enforcement Training. His background includes two years in the Marine Corps.
“Choosing one was very hard,” Sheriff R. Thomas Breedlove said. “It could have been anyone in our department.”
“We have a good department,” Brake said later.
Like Diogo, Brake has certification as a K-9 handler, among a long list of certifications and training Breedlove recited.
Brake said nothing stood out about the year that earned him the department’s top honor. Instead, he said, it was just another year.
“It means a lot to have some recognition,” said Brake, standing with his wife after the lunch. “Law enforcement is a tough job.”
The Sheriff’s Office, like the Police Department, has struggled to keep officers because other jurisdictions offer higher salaries, but Brake said he feels loyalty to Breedlove. “The sheriff is doing all he can do.”
Assistant Fire Chief Bob Lloyd (right) accepts the Optimists’ honor from Bob Gorham while Fire Chief Danny Wilkerson watches.
The veteran honoree of the afternoon was the Fire Department’s Bob Lloyd, for whom being named firefighter of the year was icing on the cake of a big spring: The 29-year Henderson veteran was promoted to assistant chief of the city and county fire departments last month.
Fire Chief Danny Wilkerson praised Lloyd’s three decades of local service and joked that it all is leading up to one goal: “One day he wants to be fire chief.”
Lloyd said he feels “pretty fortunate” after the past month.
He noted that he’s not the first member of his family to benefit from the Optimists’ role in the community. His daughter, now 18, did well in an Optimist oratorical contest several years ago.
“I definitely feel appreciated” to be honored by the chief and fellow firefighters, Lloyd said.