Southwest Orlando Bulletin Tourist Update/CFHLA

On Friday, Sept. 9, the Central Florida Hotel & Lodging Association proudly presented the annual Patriot Day Breakfast, a community event to remember the lives tragically lost 15 years ago in New York City; Shanksville, Pennsylvania; and Washington, D.C. Each year, CFHLA commemorates the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks and honors local law enforcement, fire rescue and emergency medical service members in the Central Florida region.

Tourism UpdateCentral Florida Hotel & Lodging Association honors community first responders during its annual Patriot Day Breakfast.

This year’s Patriot Day Breakfast featured the recognition of first responders, medical personnel and victims of the June 12 Pulse nightclub attack. Heroism Awards were given to Firefighter Ryan Allen of the Orange County Fire Rescue and Sgt. Scott Ames of the Orange County Sheriff’s Office. Battalion Chief William Campbell, Lt. Miguel Diaz, Paramedic Ryan Gallik, EMT Tyler Graves, Firefighter/Paramedic Justin Robinson, Engineer Justin Sparks and Paramedic Daniel Thibodeau of St. Cloud Fire Rescue received Life Saving Awards for EMS. Life Saving Awards for fire rescue were presented to members of the Seminole County Fire Department: Battalion Chief Dennis Miller, Firefighter Marcus Gombs, Firefighter Wesley Gonzalez, Lt. Rich Huebner, Firefighter David McDonald, Firefighter Dane Moyer, Firefighter Kevin Nowak and Lt. Kevin Welday. Sgt. Keith Vidler and Sgt. Randal Zeller of OCSO received Life Saving Awards for law enforcement. Drew Bailey of Renaissance Orlando at SeaWorld earned a Life Saving Award for hospitality security. Lifetime Achievement Awards were also given to Sheriff Donald Eslinger of the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office and Sheriff Bob Hansell of OCSO.

An inspiring keynote address was given by Mike Fineo, a 9/11 survivor of the World Trade Center’s north tower collapse, where he worked at Garban-Intercapital. More than 500 community leaders attended the breakfast event, including approximately 200 first responders. 💓