Press Release: “The business community came together on the morning of August 23, 2023 at the Fredericksburg Convention Center to honor and thank our region’s first responders for their contributions to our safety and well-being.”
“With over 300 first responders and community members in attendance at the event. Deputy Attorney General Nicole Wittmann and Chief Deputy State Coordinator, Sean Polster were in attendance to share their gratitude from the state of Virginia and delivered heartfelt messages.”
“In total the Chamber awarded 27 First Responders with awards for Heroism, Unit Citation and Merit. Below is a list of Award Categories and Recipients.”
“Category: Investigative. The Investigative awards are identified in the categories of excellence in criminal investigation, collaborative, merit award and ‘The business of first responding’.”
- The Business of First Responding: Fredericksburg Police Department presented to Lieutenant Aimee Lynch, Lieutenant Jason Pitts, Detective Melanie Boyle, Officer Uyurre Brown-Kaleopaa, Officer Christopher Florio and Ms. Angela Roenke.
- Collaborative Investigation: Fredericksburg Police Department presented to Lieutenant Benjamin Johnson, Detective Joshua Lynch and Detective Brandon Talbot.
- Excellence in Criminal Investigation: Caroline County Sheriff’s Office: presented to Sergeant Benjamin Sadler.
- Category: Heroism. The Heroism awards are identified in the categories of gold, silver, bronze, unit award, and merit award. The heroism award recipients have displayed bravery and heroism.
- Gold Valor Award: Spotsylvania Fire, Rescue & Emergency Deputy Fire presented to Technician Michael Evans, Technician Brian McPherson, Captain David Flint, Lieutenant Taylor Haynie, Technician Enos Martin, Firefighter Anthony Freeza, Lieutenant Chris McIntosh, Technician Travis Staples, Technician II Nick Haynes and Master Deputy William Jefferies.
- Merit Award: Spotsylvania County Sheriff’s Office presented to Deputy First Class Timothy Murphy.
- Gold Valor Award: Stafford County Sheriff’s Office presented to Sergeant Adam Assur and First Sergeant Jason Kreider.
- Gold Valor Award: King George Sheriff’s Office presented to Senior Deputy Steven Kellam and Deputy Ruslan Tully.
- Gold Valor Award: Fredericksburg Fire and Rescue presented to Battalion Chief Brandon BassRobert Hensel, Firefighter Cody Sheler, Firefighter/Medic Matt Parrotte, and Firefighter Jonathon Mann, Branden Robey, Firefighter Justin Newton, and Firefighter/Medic Tim Carter, Firefighter/Medic Bradley Gray and Firefighter/Medic Jeff Payne, Firefighter Jacob Miller, Firefighter/Medic Shawn Kowakowski, and Firefighter/Medic Matt Tanner.
“Category: Unit Citation And the Unit Citation award is given to a group of first responders who have worked together to perform an act of bravery and heroism.”
- Unit Citation Award: Caroline County Fire and Rescue presented to Caroline County Fire Rescue Units- Capt. Brett Poffenberger, Asst. Chief Keith Buchanan, Firefighter Sam Rowley, Firefighter Jacob Geisenhof, Firefighter Derrick Smith, Firefighter David Brothers, Asst. Chief David Jenkins, Jr., Firefighter David Puryear, EMT Dolores Heath, Lt. Ben Raines, Firefighter Denver Bonham, Capt. Ed Bonham, Firefighter Mike Huffman Lt. Vince Melton, Firefighter Tommy Hall, Lt. Shon Daniels, Firefighter Daniel Ferrell.
- Caroline County Sheriff’s Office Units- Sheriff Scott Moser, Major Travis Nutter, Capt. Stacy Cary, Lt. Chad Rozell, Deputy Brad Franklin, Sgt. Benjamin Doucet, Sgt. Chris Hall, Deputy Manuel Dip Deputy Maurice Clifton, Deputy Jason Elliot, Deputy Mathew Keeley, Deputy Bo Taylor, Deputy Dennis Taylor, Deputy Charles Ryan, Deputy Christopher Williams, Deputy Jesse Daily.
- Virginia State Police- Sgt. Quintin Kelly, Jr., Trooper Cody Carr-Olschewski, Trooper John Sullivan, Trooper Holly Thomas, Trooper Christopher Bingham Life Evac 1-Willard Hicks, Joseph Albright, Kevin Kissner.
- Caroline County Public Schools- Eric Childs.
“For a full list of awards and photos, please visit our website here.”
“Thank you to all of our sponsors: Rappahannock Goodwill Industries, Pierpoint Construction Inc, Mullins & Thompson Funeral Services, The Oberle Academy, Arsenal Events, Fredericksburg Public Schools, CIP Finishes, Grant Consulting Group, Tire Tread Service, Vakos Companies, Spartan Emergency Water Removal, CTI Real Estate, Found and Sons Funereal Chapel and Cremation Services, Dominion Energy, Rappahannock, Electric Cooperative, Matern Staffing, Featherstone, Little Tire Tire Pros, TRU by Hilton, The Joint Chiropractic, Riphean Investments, Paragon Theaters, Discover Next Step and Germanna Community College.”
Recent Stories
The Silber family, long-time owners of the Fredericksburg Nationals, announced today they have agreed to sell the Minor League Baseball team to Diamond Baseball Holdings (DBH), a company that owns and operates select Minor League Baseball clubs affiliated with Major League Baseball.
The annual Law Enforcement Torch Run returns to Prince William County on June 10, starting at the Central District Police Station in Woodbridge. Officers and Special Olympians will run as six-mile route to support the Special Olympics Summer Games.
Several major roadwork projects are underway in the I-95 corridor, including lane closures for milling and paving between Thornburg and Spotsylvania. In Fredericksburg, expect intermittent lane closures on Fall Hill Avenue and Lafayette Boulevard, while Stafford and Spotsylvania counties also have various roadwork and resurfacing activities affecting Route 1, Route 620, and other local roads.
Hartwell Capitol Consulting in Prince William County is advising on an AI-driven aptitude test that helps high school students discover ideal career paths in the military — from engineering to healthcare to cybersecurity.
Looking for art opportunities in the DMV? ArtsFairfax.org is your online destination to find and promote artist calls in and around Fairfax. Our Artist Calls directory is always free to use and highlights opportunities to audition, exhibit artwork, or secure commissions. Be sure to check out ArtsFairfax Artist Calls on an ongoing basis – new opportunities are added every week.
In addition to a dozen or so Artist Calls from throughout the region, ArtsFairfax is proud to host the following:
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On June 20th, 2025, Woodbridge Rotary Club will be holding our 21st annual charity golf tournament. This tournament is in memory of two of our past Presidents and valued members of the community. Joe Devaney passed away March 22, 2005 and a few years ago, Bill O’Hop passed away barely a week after playing in this tournament in 2015. Both Joe and Bill were each other’s best friends and they both loved golf! Please help us pay tribute to our dear friends by participating in this tournament and helping us to support our local and international charities. If you are interested in golfing, sponsoring, donating a door prize and/or know someone who is, please contact us (Mark Worrilow [email protected] or 703-244-8702). Signing up is also possible using the QR code.
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This unique Convention truly has something
Van Metre 5K Run
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