PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — The First Responders Appreciation Foundation will host its LEO Awards this Thursday, May 22.
WPTV Anchor Shannon Cake will serve as master of ceremonies for this annual recognition of the men and women of law enforcement throughout Palm Beach County and the Treasure Coast.
This year, 274 nominations were received from 18 agencies in Palm Beach, Martin, St. Lucie and Indian River counties.
The awards luncheon is the second largest in the country behind New York City.
You can watch the 2025 LEO Awards streaming live on wptv.com starting at noon on Thursday, May 22.
Here is a complete list of categories and nominees for the First Responders Appreciation Foundation LEO Awards:
CIVILIAN MANAGER-SUPERVISOR OF THE YEAR
Nicole Dennis, Records Supervisor, Boynton Beach Police Department
Monique Lewis, Communications Manager, Boynton Beach Police Department
Brittney Hanton, Dispatch Supervisor, Martin County Sheriff’s Office
Jessica Skowronski, Dispatch Manager, Martin County Sheriff’s Office
Angela Olivares, Lead T/C Supervisor, Palm Beach Police Department
JoBeth Herzog, Supervisor, Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office
Kara Mendez, Supervisor, Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office
Diane Smith, Manager, Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office
Stephanie Wilson, Dispatch Supervisor, West Palm Beach Police Department
CIVILIAN OF THE YEAR
Jaimie Viverito, Public Service Aid, Boynton Beach Police Department
April Leonard, Accreditation and Compliance Manager, Boca Raton Police Service Department
Yazmin Salguero, Service Population Advocate, Delray Beach Police Department
Archie McNair, Evidence Custodian, Florida Highway Patrol
Crystal Huskins, Civilian Traffic Assistant, Indian River County Sheriff’s Office
Henry Cardoso, Code Compliance Officer, Jupiter Police Department
Tameika Montuore, Executive Assistant, Martin County Sheriff’s Office
Michele Moore, Pre-Trial Release Coordinator, Martin County Sheriff’s Office
Motes Alix, Trainer, Palm Beach County School Police Department
Paige Cohen, CSI III, Palm Beach Gardens Police Department
Todd MacClauchlin, Fleet Manager, Palm Beach Police Department
Yoan Rojas, Fleet and Facility Manager, St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office
Jeena Thomas, Fleet Coordinator, West Palm Beach Police Department
COMMUNITY POLICING AWARD
Marissa Buchanan, Officer, Florida Atlantic Police Department
Scott Burke, Deputy, Indian River County Sheriff’s Office
Ron Adamson, Deputy, Indian River County Sheriff’s Office
Timothy Dupuis, Officer, Palm Beach County School Police Department
Diana Hayes, Sergeant, Palm Beach County School Police Department
Ryan Burgoon, Officer, Palm Beach Police Department
Jonathan Rothenburg, Detective, Palm Beach Police Department
Dameon Williams, Deputy Sheriff, Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office
CORRECTIONS OFFICER OF THE YEAR
Melinda Rolle, Deputy, Indian River County Sheriff’s Office
Robert Howard, Deputy Sheriff, Martin County Sheriff’s Office, Corrections Department
DETECTIVE-INVESTIGATOR OF THE YEAR
Aramis Grigorian, Detective, Boynton Beach Police Department
Sean Steele, Detective, Boynton Beach Police Department
Randa White, Detective, Boca Raton Police Service Department
William Morales, Detective, Delray Beach Police Department
Tyler Sheinberg, Detective, Florida Highway Patrol
Philip Daugherty, Detective, Indian River County Sheriff’s Office
Matthew Palladino, Detective, Jupiter Police Department
Christian Vargas, Investigator, Lantana Police Department
Matthew Killough, Sergeant, Martin County Sheriff’s Office
Cody Johnston, Agent, Palm Beach Gardens Police Department
Stephen Buscemi, Detective, Palm Beach Police Department
Joseph Piatchek, Detective, Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office
Jessica Vasco, Detective, Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office
Brent Crawford, Detective, Port St. Lucie Police Department
Brian Thompson, Officer, Port St. Lucie Police Department
Andrew Zamfino, Detective, Port St. Lucie Police Department
Rochelet Commond, Captain, Riviera Beach Police Department
Paul Taylor, Detective, St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office
Jerrell Negron, Detective, West Palm Beach Police Department
EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER OF THE YEAR
Esther Camille, Dispatcher, Florida Atlantic Police Department
Robert Millar, PSD III, Indian River County Sheriff’s Office
Kathryn Kendall-Jackson, ECO/CTO, Palm Beach Gardens Police Department
Kasey Thomas, Communications Officer, Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office
K-9 ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Lucas Tavares (Trooper, K-9 Odin)/Elvis Nolasco (Trooper)/Ghermaine Yepez (Trooper, K-9 Uno)/William Shogran (Trooper), Florida Highway Patrol
Andrew Sebris, Deputy, Indian River County Sheriff’s Office
LIFE SAVING AWARD
Jason Epling, Health and Wellness Specialist, Indian River County Sheriff’s Office
Matt Redstone, Sergeant, Indian River County Sheriff’s Office
Jheri-Lynn Palmeri, Officer, Jupiter Police Department
Brian Panczak (Sergeant)/Ryan Ferguson (Officer), Jupiter Police Department
Armando Sanchez, Officer, Palm Beach County School Police Department
Natasha Bradshaw, Deputy Sheriff, Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office
Ryan Fisher, Deputy Sheriff, Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office
Joshua Kirkus (Detective)/Anthony Lovechio (Officer), Port St. Lucie Police Department
Michael Oliver (Sergeant)/Joshua Saffomilla (Lieutenant), Port St. Lucie Police Department
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT
Allison Klotzer, Division Coordinator, Indian River County Sheriff’s Office
Wes Smith, Chief of Police, Town of Lake Clarke Shores
Alfedo Araujo, Detective, Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office
Tony Araujo, Chief of Police, West Palm Beach Police Department
Kathy Ribeiro, Accreditation Manager, Riviera Beach Police Department
Lori Colombino, Lieutenant, West Palm Beach Police Department
OFFICER-DEPUTY OF THE YEAR
Shane Shepard, Officer, Boynton Beach Police Department
Luis Bonet, Officer, Delray Beach Police Department
Michael Denier, Officer, Jupiter Police Department
Deputies Jody Certain/James Aliseo/Karla Ceraso/Stewart Saalfield/Leonardo Anillo/Bryan Winterbauer/Scott Kozlowski/Phillip Berlingo/Jimmie Smith, Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office
Peter Berger, Officer, Port St. Lucie Police Department
Stephen Kraviec, Officer, Port St. Lucie Police Department
Matt Gerdes, Deputy, St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office
Rodley Jolicoeur, Officer, West Palm Beach Police Department
SCHOOL RESOURCE OFFICER OF THE YEAR
Bryce Tai, Officer, Palm Beach County School Police Department
Jerry DeJean, Officer, Port St. Lucie Police Department
Amanda McCarty, Officer, Port St. Lucie Police Department
Matthew Ellison, Deputy, St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office
SUPERVISOR OF THE YEAR
Shaun James, Evan Esteves, Scott Staley/Sergeants, Boynton Beach Police Department
Gina Hopkins, Sergeant, Florida Atlantic Police Department
Eric Frank, Sergeant, Jupiter Police Department
Patrick Auger, Sergeant, Palm Beach County School Police Department
Robert Boschen, Sergeant, Palm Beach Gardens Police Department
Michael Oswald, Lieutenant, West Palm Beach Police Department
TASK FORCE-UNIT AWARD
Boynton Beach Police Department Traffic Unit (Sergeant Chris Munro, Officers Lawrence Rini, Terrance Paramore, Harold Hall)
Florida Atlantic Police Department (Officers Cyndi Vecchio, Marissa Buchanan, Sarah Dougherty, Daniel Bradley, Gabriel Araya, Eric McCormick, Kaitlyn Denham, Janet Chang, Jonathan Larrabee, Heather Gill, Sergeants Rickey Robinson, Michael Marzigliano, Lieutenants Richard Jacobson, Howard Howell, Efren Johnson)
Indian River County Sheriff’s Office Special Victims Unit (Lieutenant Kevin Jaworski, Detectives Chris Scribner, Brandon McKay, Bridgette Sanders, Kerrie Crawford-Martin, Chad Sharpeta)
Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office District 3 Community Policing Unit (Sergeant John Fresneda, Deputy Sheriffs Robert Woods, Andrew Forde, Suzanne Plesnik, Phillip LeJeune, Adam Robinson, Jorge Gomez, Darrell Russian, Brian Cassie)
Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office District 6 Street Crimes Unit (Agents Andrea (Andre) Cacciatore, Daniel Oroz, Andrew Sentz, Barry Ward, Daniel Gillings)
Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office District 14 Community Policing Unit (Deputies Michael Mahoney, Edward Baird, Isaac Morales, Jackie Bundrick)
Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office Homicide Nights B (Detectives Joseph Piatchek, Matthew Ott, Tyler McCullough, Kathleen Mays, Andrew Starr, Sergeant Jerry Lamm)
South Florida Task Force (Agents Christopher Armanini, Joseph Blackman, Elizabeth Carreno, Derek Chahine, Taylor Demario, Christopher Francis, Joseph Frommer, Ernest George, Matthew Gitschier, Robert Hentze, Joshua Josef, Austin Laufer, George Mastics, Umair Razi, Paul Sanchez, Bill Vandermeeren-Sanchez, Vincent Wilder, Sergeants Edward Mayo, Mark Lanier, John Tatum, Lieutenant Jason Johnson, Captain Shawn Eastman, Crime Analysts Jordan Fleishman and Jessica Stormes, Task Force Officers Ryan Maranges, Anthony Masi, Brandon Lopez, Josh Kronzek, Aaron Resnick, Dominic Ferrusi, Angelo Palmieri, Edgar Batista, Cody Johnston)
Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office Targeted Violence Unit (Detectives Clearance Bennett, Al Silvestre, William Vickers, Gregory Gerbasi, Cassandra Schwartz, Clifton Wells, Ray Fuentes, Ryan Dalton, Matthew Wood, Detective Unit Training Officer Miranda Edwin, Analyst Jessica Stormes, Project Manager Amanda Viglione, CIT Coordinator Gabrielle Torres, Cadet Samantha McCranels, Sergeants Jeanette Rivers, Joshua Carhart)
Port St. Lucie Police Department (Detectives Daniel Papaleo, Carlos Valentin, Joshua Kirkus)
Port St. Lucie Police Department (Chief Leo Niemczyk, Sergeant Ariel Dailey, Detective Fred Knaggs, Police Personnel Liaison Melissa Jungjohan, Grant/Budget Analyst Brianne Nasso)
Port St. Lucie Police Department Special Investigations Division (Captain Matthew Cuba, Lieutenant Joshua Saffomilla, Sergeant Joseph Alves, Robert Perkins, Michael Oliver, Detectives Oliver Adams, Cory Hulings, Erika Venazio, Edward Griffith, Clayton Baldwin, Kacie Rios, Chervon Gockmann, Carson Perkins, Brent Crawford, Ivan Dominguez, Ryan Arbid, Erik Morrison, Rachel Magura)
Riviera Beach Police Department Community Services Division (Sergeants Latoya Wright-Ambersly, Roosevelt Lee, Officers Justin Borum, Walter Terrell, Johnathan Nance, Aird Cajuste, Cherise Phillips, Cherrise Knight, Rohan Westcarth, Community Liaison Officer, Danielle O’Sullivan)
St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigations Division (Captain Troy Norman, Sergeants Shawn Masters, Tim Fulston, Dave Blatchford, Detectives Shane Bogner, Roxanne Bourbonniere, Jay Carver, Dawn Dale, Jennifer Diaz, Laine Drawdy, George “Dave” Felix, Joshua French, Megan Mangel, Mitchell Mazanoski, Chris Mock, Edwilky Paulvil, Nicholas Redier, Evan Ridle, Rui Rodriguez, Christine Lafleur, Mark Shireman, Anthony Scuoppo, Daniel Tomaszewski, Doris Tracey, Eric Wax)
TRAINING OFFICER (FTO) OF THE YEAR
Thomas Pustizzi, Sergeant, Florida Atlantic Police Department
Michael Ruiz, Deputy, Indian River County Sheriff’s Office
John Matonti, Police Officer First Class, Jupiter Police Department
Ralph Bradley, Police Officer, Palm Beach Gardens Police Department
Zachary Cross, Unit Training Officer, Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office
James (Karl) Durr, Corporal, Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office
Ray Ruby, Deputy Sheriff, Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office
Cory Terrell, Training Officer, Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office
VALOR AWARD
Christian Portocarrero, Deputy, Indian River County Sheriff’s Office
