SACRAMENTO, CA. – The State of California honored 29 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.
“Quality of character is clearest during a crisis,” said Governor Gavin Newsom. “The choice to risk your own safety, your own future, it’s never an easy one, and the people we recognize today put their lives in harm’s way — they saw people in need and they acted. We all should be honored to serve this great state alongside people of such quality of character as those we recognize here today.”
The 29 awardees represented 5 state departments: the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR), California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE), California Department of Department of Parks and Recreation (State Parks) and the California Highway Patrol (CHP).
Actions taken by this year’s recipients include a lost swimmer rescued in complete darkness; a neighbor who was saved from his burning house; a young toddler trapped in his home by a fallen redwood; people who were evacuated to safety from a building that was set on fire; and separate counts of everyday drivers rescued under extreme circumstances, facing mortal danger.
This year’s recipients, the level of their award and their employing department are as follows:
- Sultan N. Abassy, Silver, Caltrans
- Michael D. Butner, Silver, Caltrans
- Geoffrey Clute, Gold, Caltrans
- Danny Dube, Silver, Caltrans
- Gonzalo Garcia, Silver, Caltrans
- Kenneth Myers, Silver, Caltrans
- Bruce Kenneth Perry, Silver, Caltrans
- DavidRay Sumaya, Silver, Caltrans
- Darrell L. VanNatta, Silver, Caltrans
- Daniel T. Pierce, Gold, CDCR
- David M. Tapia, Silver, CDCR
- Christopher Acevedo, Gold, CAL FIRE
- Timothy Cabral, Silver, CAL FIRE
- Kyle Callaway, Silver, CAL FIRE
- Josh Clark, Silver, CAL FIRE
- Kenneth Ellis, Silver, CAL FIRE
- Roger Allyn Giese, Gold, CAL FIRE
- Joe Green, Silver, CAL FIRE
- John May, Gold, CAL FIRE
- Kory McGranahan, Gold, CAL FIRE
- Ariel Sosa, Silver, CAL FIRE
- Max Hunter, Gold, State Parks
- Riley Rhodes, Gold, State Parks
- Jose A. Benitez, Gold, CHP
- Michael Christopher Estey, Gold, CHP
- Christian David Lara, Gold, CHP
- Luis F. Rodriguez, Gold, CHP
- Chad W. Smith, Gold, CHP
- Jonathan Wion, Gold, CHP
Other state officials participating in the ceremony included Cabinet Secretary of the Office of Governor Gavin Newsom, Ann Patterson; Secretary of the Government Operations Agency (GovOps), Amy Tong; Secretary of the State Transportation Agency (CalSTA), Toks Omishakin; Caltrans Director, Tony Tavares; CHP Commissioner, Sean Duryee; CDCR Secretary, Jeff Macomber; CDCR Division of Adult Institutions Director, Ron Broomfield; Undersecretary of the California Natural Resources Agency (CNRA), Saul Gomez; CAL FIRE Director, Joe Tyler; State Parks Director, Armando Quintero 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 State Merit Award Board and approved by
the Director of CalHR. Since the program began in 1959, over 800 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.