SACRAMENTO, CA – The State of California honored 23 state employees with the Governor’s State Employee Medal of Valor Award (Medal of Valor Award) for their acts of heroism in a ceremony at the California Highway Patrol Academy in West Sacramento. The Medal of Valor Award is the highest honor the state can bestow upon its employees, given on behalf of Governor Gavin Newsom.
“I am honored to recognize these awardees” said Governor Gavin Newsom. “Rare is my opportunity to thank these individuals and the families of these heroes for their actions, but today I can. Thank you, so much, for sharing your bravery and heroism with California.”
Actions taken by this year’s recipients include saving countless lives in vehicle fires and accidents; approaching a suspected gunman at a Walmart store; saving a 4-year-old boy from his mother who was intentionally smothering him in muddy water; and a sedan traveling 90-100 miles per hour in the wrong direction, sustaining a violent head-on collision and injuries.
This year’s recipients, the level of their award and their employing department are as follows:
- Jake Bibby, Silver, CAL FIRE
- Luis Cardenas, Gold, CDCR
- Ryan Ayers, Gold, CHP
- Eric Jorgensen, Gold, CHP
- Kenneth Weckman, Gold, CHP
- Jeremy M. Welch, Gold, CHP
- Troy David Wiltshire, Gold, CHP
- William T. Fitzgerald, Silver, CHP
- Kasey Ryan Simas, Silver, CHP
- Chris Williams, Silver, CHP
- Aaron Roth Adair, Gold, CHP
- Steven Strobel, Gold, CHP
- Cody Collins, Silver Caltrans
- Jeffrey Scardine, Silver, Caltrans
- Brian Rubalcava, Silver, Caltrans
- Jason Lofton, Silver, Caltrans
- Jeremy Maraviov, Silver, Caltrans
- Scott Davidson, Silver, Caltrans
- Trevor Gipson, Silver, Caltrans
- Nicholas Macias, Silver, Caltrans
- Robert Hernandez, Silver, Caltrans
- Roberto Lopez, Gold, Caltrans
- William S. Miller, Silver, Caltrans
Other state officials participating in the ceremony included Secretary of the Government Operations Agency, Amy Tong; State Transportation Agency Secretary, Toks Omishakin; Caltrans Director, Tony Tavares; California Highway Patrol (CHP) Commissioner, Sean Duryee; Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) Secretary, Jeff Macomber; CDCR Division of Adult Parole Operations Director Marvin Speed; California Natural Resource Agency Secretary, Wade Crowfoot; Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) Director, Joe Tyler; and California Department of Human Resources (CalHR) Director, Eraina Ortega.
The Medal of Valor Award is sponsored by CalHR. Award nominations are made by the employee’s department, reviewed by the statewide Merit Award Board and approved by the Director of CalHR. Since the program began in 1959, over 700 state employees have received the Medal of Valor Award.
The award comes in two distinctions: the Special Service Award (Silver) for an act of heroism by a state employee extending above and beyond the normal call of duty or service performed at personal risk to his or her safety to save human life or state property, and the Special Act Award (Gold) for an extraordinary act of heroism by a state employee extending far above and beyond the normal call of duty or service, performed at great risk to his or her own life in an effort to save human life.
For more information about the Medal of Valor Award, visit the Medal of Valor website. Details of each recipient’s award will be posted to the website after the ceremony.
About CalHR
CalHR is responsible for all issues related to employee salaries and benefits, job classifications, civil rights, training, exams, recruitment and retention. For most employees, many of these matters are determined through the collective bargaining process managed by CalHR.
CalHR was created on July 1, 2012, by Governor Brown’s Reorganization Plan Number 1 of 2011. The reorganization plan consolidated the State of California’s two personnel departments, combining the Department of Personnel Administration with certain programs of the State Personnel Board. For more information about CalHR, please visit our website.