Page 2 - Mid Valley Times Lifestyle 12-19-19 E-edition

ABOVE: JerryIsaak,Reed- ley's Fire Chief, shook hands with award recipi- ent, Andrew Rios, as Jus- tin Watson, the battalion chief for the department announced the award.
LEFT: From left, Martin Rodriguez, a captain with the department, posed for a photo with his wife Jennifer following the ceremony.
PhotosbyJuanitaAdame /TheMidValleyTimes
From left, Firefighter of the year recipient, Juan Morales posed for a photo with Marco Solis, engineer with Reed- ley Fire following the ceremony.
AWARDS
Continued from page A7
“I feel very proud of myself, I wasn’t expect- ing this,” said Morales following the ceremony. “There was a certain in- dividual that everyone kept talking about be- ing the recipient of the award, so I figured ok I’ll just clap for him.
“Once they said my name,” he continued. “IhadtostopandIwas shocked and thought, wow it’s me?”
Morales said he has come a long way from 2013. It was in 2013 he found himself in the mid- dle of an orchard, deep in the state of Washington
From left, Sharon Warkentin, girlfriend of Eric Laemmlen one of the award recipients from the department, posed for a photo following the ceremony.
Thursday, December 19, 2019 |
A8 |
Mid Valley TiMes
WITH FRIES AND DRINK
WITH FRIES AND DRINK
FRIDAY
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SUNDAY
KIDS MEAL WITH THE PURCHASE OF ADULT COMBO
2 PAPA BURGER SINGLES
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near the Canadian bor- der, picking cherries.
At the time, the thought of joining a de- partment, let alone re- ceiving an award from a fire department, was the last thing on his mind.
“When I was in high school I was hanging out with a bad crowd,” he said. “We have family in Washington and they own a big orchard full of cherries, they wanted to givemeashotatit,my dad wanted me to work for my things, and basi- cally to teach me work ethic.”
The experience changed his life for the better, and he credits his father for helping him recognize it.
“My dad’s advice was to start working, start saving for myself, own- ing up to yourself, make yourself a better man,” he said. “It made me grow up, I did it for two years.”
Award recipients for 2019 included, Daniel Lopez, Andrew Rios, Er- ic Laemmlen, Jack Ha- ra, Juan Morales, Kenia Flores, and Dustin Mald- ing. More photos on page A11.
“My dad's advice; start working start sav- ing for myself.”
- Juan Morales
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