Palm Beach Police sergeant receives Carnegie Medal for saving distressed woman
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Surrounded by her peers and family, Palm Beach Police Sgt. Kendall Reyes was honored Friday for her heroic efforts in June to save the life of a distressed woman threatening to jump from the roof of a condominium.
Reyes received the Carnegie Medal from the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission, which was presented to her by Nancy Rackoff, chair of the organization’s executive and governance committees, during the police department’s promotional and award ceremony.
Established in 1904 by industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie to recognize people who commit selfless acts of heroism in the United States or Canada, the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission says it has given more than $40 million in grants to more than 10,000 awardees or their survivors.
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Rackoff detailed to the crowd of town officials, officers and their accompanying family members Reyes' rescue of the 67-year-old-woman from the edge of the five-story building at 2778 S. Ocean Blvd.
“Sergeant Reyes ascended to the roof where she, with help from the woman’s co-worker, attempted to create a rapport with the woman as she paced closer to the wall,” Rackoff said. “The woman sat on the roof edge, and with both legs over the wall ... Sergeant Reyes sprinted 15 feet to the woman ... clasped her shoulders and pulled her backwards onto the rooftop.”
Reyes wasn’t the only individual winning national awards, as six town officials along with the town were presented with national awards from the Employer Support of The Guard and Reserve (ESGR), a Department of Defense program established in 1972 to promote relations between civilian employers and employees in the armed reserves.
Paul Nicoletti, ombudsman for ESGR Florida, said that the awards reflect the real actions the town takes, because the only way to receive a nomination is through the reservist or their family sending the program a letter of nomination.
“When we read the different names today ... it represents an outstanding support of our military and their families by taking away the burden of worrying about their jobs and family,” Nicoletti said.
According to Police Chief Nicholas Caristo, Sgt. Fred Waymire had sent in the nominations in secret. “Without telling us, he wanted to see if we’d get it,” Caristo said.
The Town of Palm Beach, represented by Town Manager Kirk Blouin, received the Above and Beyond Award, an award meant to recognize employers who go well beyond the legal requirements to aid reservist employees through non-mandated benefits.
“The credit really belongs to the town, the past and present leaders. There is a longstanding history with the Town of Palm Beach supporting men and women performing duties with the armed services, since before I started working for the town 35 years ago,” Blouin said as he accepted the award.
Palm Beach Budget Manager Melissa Ladd, People and Culture Generalist Jody Justice, and Blouin all received the Seven Seals Award, recognizing their leadership and initiatives in support of members of the armed services.
Caristo, Maj. John Scanlan and Capt. Will Rothrock were presented with the Patriot Award, an honor given to employers for their exceptional direct support to reservist employees and their families; in this case, for their direct support of the Waymire family.
The ceremony also saw the promotion of Officers Anducchi Augustin and Robert Mastrangelo to sergeant. In addition, Caristo recognized officers and department officials who had reached five, 10, 15, 20 and 25 years of service with the department with a service award. Also announced were the Officers of the Month for April to November.
Officers of the Month were:
April: Adam Zeller
May: Gabrio Badolati
June: Kendall Reyes
July: Richard Friedman
August: Patrick O'Dea
September: Daniel Meblin
October: Michael Castineiras
November: Giselle Bido
Diego Diaz Lasa is a journalist at the Palm Beach Daily News, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach him at dlasa@pbdailynews.com. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: Palm Beach Police sergeant receives Carnegie Medal for heroism on job
