Chris CiarloChannel 2 News
On Wednesday, the Nevada Highway Patrol honored some of their employees who stepped up in times of tragedy last year.
Some of the people honored today were vital in responding to so many of these tragedies we covered here at Channel 2 News.
Major Brian Sanchez said it's important to take a moment and thank them for their courage and leadership when it was needed most.
"We had a series of employees that had gone beyond their normal duties," said Sanchez. "In some of these instances, it was in critical situations that were ongoing and operational."
John Schilling won Sergeant of the Year. Debbie Wenzel was Civilian Employee of the Year and Tom Bostleman was Trooper of 2011.
Serenity Simpson was awarded Northern Command Dispatcher of the Year for her work during the IHOP shooting last September in Carson City.
She was the primary dispatcher on that unforgettable day.
"It was stressful, very stressful,"said Simpson. "You know, you just kind of kick into gear and do what you're supposed to do and your training kicks in and then afterwards, you sort of take a deep breath and cope and deal with it."
NHP also took a moment to thank the Red Cross for helping first responders during the Amtrak crash last June near Fallon.
Rod Poole says their job is to not only help victims, but first responders who are working to save lives as well and that's exactly what they did.
"With it being June and temperatures being up out in the middle of the desert, any type of nourishment, food or anything like that is difficult being so many miles away. We were able to provide that for them based on donations from the community and that type of thing."
