- February 3, 2026
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Before coming to Sarasota, James Thompson managed an awards ceremony for police and firefighters at the Rotary Club of New York.
He managed it for 20 out of the 50 years it had been running, and expects the same longevity for the awards established at Rotary Club of Sarasota.
During its weekly meeting at Marina Jack on Jan. 28, the club hosted a ceremony honoring two members of the Sarasota Police Department and one member of the Sarasota County Fire Department.
Officer Ron Dixon and Lt. Bruce King of the Sarasota Police Marine Unit were honored for stopping an abandoned boat after a boater fell overboard in April 2025, an incident that was captured on video.
Firefighter Gabe Gadah was praised for exceptional dedication to the department and for his work ethic.
“The police and fire department deserve the recognition,” Thompson said. “They’re out there every day, saving the community, doing what's right for us. It’s nice that we have a chance to recognize them.”
Although the spotlight wasn't something that personnel from the departments were used to, they said they were grateful for the experience.
“We're honored to be here,” said Capt. Robert Armstrong of the Sarasota Police Department. “It's really nice for the officers to receive recognition. Normally, officers don't actually want the recognition or any attention, but it is really nice when they receive it.”
“There's nothing better I get to do as a fire chief, and to have the Rotary Club recognize one of our folks was super special, and we really appreciated being invited to the event," said Assistant Chief Curvin Wolfgang.
Candace Yaeger, who worked on the program alongside Thompson, said the ceremony is “near and dear to her heart” as it is for Thompson and for club president Pam Akins.
“I have a lot of public servants in in my family,” she said. “My father is retired police in Philadelphia. My brother is a firefighter up in Pennsylvania. For me, I grew up seeing how under appreciated all the hard work really was, so when Jim and Pam brought this to me, I'm like, ‘OK, whatever I can do to help, I will make this happen with you guys.”
She also noted the club was excited to be celebrating its centennial anniversary this year.
Officer Ron Dixon, who could not attend the ceremony, was represented by Officer Michael Skinner.
The rescue performed by Dixon and King involved a boat that was circling unmanned near the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art.
With assistance from other local agencies, the officers were able to board the boat after a plasma tow line from Sea Tow slowed the vessel.
Dixon maneuvered alongside the boat, while King boarded it and brought it to a stop.
“I'm thankful that I had the training and the tools to do it, and everybody came out safe, but the recognition is not expected,” King said. “A little embarrassing, but it certainly is nice. It gives a lot of validation that people recognize the hard work we do.”
However, he said there were also other heroes in the room.
“The Rotary group, what a bunch of heroes themselves, giving back to the community,” King said.
Firefighter Gabe Gadah was awarded for exceptional dedication to the fire department.
“We run about 67,000 incidents a year, so we're a very busy agency, and I think he ran 66,999 of them,” said Wolfgang, to laughter.
He said Gadah led the agency for the third year in a row, by far performing the most intubations — a procedure to place a breathing tube — in the field, in what were critical calls.
“If I have someone that's struggling, just to talk, someone's having a bad day coming out of paramedic school, and I'm looking for someone to help them up, we go to this guy,” he said.
He also praised Gadah for his continued work during the COVID-19 pandemic, and for showing up to the department every day in the aftermath of the hurricanes.
Thompson said that so far, the awards are a success.
“I think it went better than we anticipated,” he said. “I think the recipients were very well-deserving. The (crew and families) that were here, I think were very appreciative, and I think the honorees were appreciative, and I think our club very much thought it was a very successful program.”
