The Miami Lakes Public Safety Committee presented its awards for outstanding first responders at the Sept. 16 council meeting.
The annual awards recognize a Miami-Dade Fire Rescue firefighter and a deputy from the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office for their service.
Maj. Jose Gonzalez, commander for Miami Lakes district, presented Deputy Carlos Ortiz with the Deputy of the Year award.
“Carlos Ortiz has been with the town now 24 years and he’s been with the department for 30 [years],” Gonzalez said.
Ortiz started in Cutler Ridge, transferred to Miami Lakes after incorporation and worked road patrol before joining the neighborhood resource unit. He starts his shifts at Miami Lakes K-8 Center. Ortiz patrols the town on his bicycle before returning to the school for dismissal. He advises the Police Explorer Program and also serves on the department’s honor guard.
“We’re really proud to have him on the team,” Gonzalez said. “You love to serve this community, and I see it every day in the dedication that you do.”
Ortiz’s family joined him at the ceremony.
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Chief Fire Officer Daniel C. Bolline III presented the Firefighter of the Year award to Firefighter Anthony Cueto of Station 64. Bolline said Cueto has served with the fire department for 20 years and has spent seven of those years in Miami Lakes, where he also helps take care of station finances for his fellow firefighters.
“Tony Cueto has gone countless years … throughout his career not calling out sick and has had multiple awards for perfect attendance,” Bolline said. “He provides the lifeblood to the firefighters that work at that station, i.e., coffee.”
Bolline also celebrated Cueto’s recent certification as a public safety diver, calling him an asset to a community that has a lot of lakes, canals and pools.
“It is with great honor that the Town of Miami Lakes and its Public Safety Committee congratulates this year’s Firefighter of the Year, Anthony Cueto,” Public Safety Committee member Darwin Villavicencio said about Cueto, who lives in town with his family.