Lt. Philip Aldrich honored with the President's Award accompanied by his wife, Shea, recipient of the Real Hero Award

Leesburg, Florida - Lake County Firefighters honored several of their own recently at their annual Lake County Fireman's Ball. The ball hosted by the Professional Firefighters of Lake County, Local 3990 was established in 2012. "The ball is an opportunity for us to honor our firefighters that have put in their time and are now retiring, as well as we also recognize those that go above and beyond their normal duties through out the year," explains Lt. Brian Gamble, Vice President of the Professional Firefighters of Lake County. "These men and women have dedicated a third of their lives to serving their community, and this is our opportunity to thank them for their service."  Lt. Bruce Bowers and Lt. Tom Mitchell, the guests of honor and most recent retirees, were both recognized at the ball for dedicating 26 and 27 years respectively to the citizens of Lake County and Lake County Fire Rescue. 

In addition to honoring the retiree's for all their years of service, the Professional Firefighters of Lake County recognized several firefighters with Distinguishment Awards, including the top honor of the President's Award. Lt. Philip Aldrich was the recipient of the distinguished President's Award for 2013. "Phil is always donating his time to help out with just about every event we do" President Steve LaFleur told the guests at the ball. "He not only donates his time to giving back to the community whenever he can, but also has worked at establishing and building an accountable financial record system as the treasure of our organization."

Other recipients of Distinguishment Awards included Shea Aldrich, (Phil's wife) as the Real Hero Award. "Shea is always there alongside Phil at almost every event. She donates her time without a second thought when it comes to helping our organization give back to our community," touts Gamble. "She is truly the Real Hero". Outstanding Member Dedication awards were bestowed upon firefighter Buffy Tucci and Lt. Stan Priester for their dedication to helping out with numerous community events, such as Turn Lake County Pink and the annual Christmas Toy Drive. The Leadership award was given to Lt. Mike Bass for his current and past role in providing a leader to look up to amongst the department. Lt. Donovan Miller received the Past Officer award for his dedication during his term he served as Vice President of the organization. Gator Harley Davidson was recognized as the Business Partner of the Year, a new category of recognition for 2013. "Gator Harley has gone above and beyond in helping us with several of our major events this year," Gamble told the guests. "They really do whatever it takes to help make an event a success. They helped our charity with a Chili Cook Off Benefit, as well as helped us host the first ever stop in Lake County of the Pink Heals Tour. We have been building many relationships with businesses in our community in the last few years, but Gator has taken the lead amongst them all. We are proud to be Business Partners with Gator when it comes back to giving back to our community."

The Lake County Honor Guard opened the ceremonies for the evening with a traditional ritual of posting of the colors, or the flags, escorted by bagpipes played by Lake County Fire Rescue Lieutenant Jason Graham.