Thirteen members of the law enforcement community were presented with awards during the sixth annual law enforcement banquet. They were recognized for their service.
The audience at the Milford Lake Conference Center at Acorns Resort heard from guest speaker, Congressman Roger Marshall, whose father was a police officer.
Master Trooper Mike Paynter was recognized as the 2019 Kansas Highway Patrol Law Enforcement Officer of the Year.
Deputy James Regalado was the 2019 Geary County Law Enforcement Officer of the Year.
Officer Nick Blake was the 2019 Junction City Police Department Law Enforcement Officer of the Year.
Annie Asmus was the 2019 Junction City / Geary County Dispatcher of the Year.
Other award recipients for 2019 included Sgt. Matthew Tyler as Geary County Corrections Officer of the Year, Amy Granzow was the Grandview Plaza Police Department Law Enforcement Officer of the Year, Lt. Rob Waters was named Ft. Riley Law Enforcement Officer of the Year, Lt. Adam Hastert the Ft. Riley Conservation Law Enforcement Officer of the Year, SSA Lisa Medrano the Ft. Riley CID Supervisory Special Agent of the Year, Lt. Nate Clement the State Park Officer of the Year for Milford State Park, FJ Torre was the Juvenile Corrections Officer of the Year for the North Central Kansas Regional Juvenile Detention Facility, Steven Olson the Court Services Officer of the Year for the 8th Judicial District and Mary Martinez was the Community Corrections Officer of the Year for the 8th Judicial District.