Lions Club honors 'Norwalk's finest'

Norwalk Lions Club president Ken Leber said the annual meeting when the Norwalk firefighter and police officers of the year are named is always his favorite."We get to honor Norwalk's finest," he said.The Norwalk Lions celebrated Capt. Brett Beers as the firefighter of the year Tuesday night. Dave Ditz was honored as the full-time officer of the year and Kayla Bickley as the reserve officer of the year. The awards came through nominations by their peers. "It means a lot to them; it means a lot to us," police Chief Conney said about the honors.Firefighter Mike Frado gave a moving tribute to Beers, whom he said he "had the pleasure of working" with during shifts in 2018 and also this year."Some may be wondering what an individual must do to become firefighter of the year. Let me assure you that it isn't obtained by normal acts of service. It isn't by being great at Excel spreadsheets, bar graphs and PowerPoint. You become firefighter of the year by treating an entire city as if they were your family," said Frado, who praised Beers for leading by example."You become firefighter of the year by reminding yourself of the oath you took to protect this city and the individuals (who) live here every morning before your shift starts. You become firefighter of the year by showing valor and selflessness in emergency situations, by aggressively fighting fires and by making intelligent decisions when you are blinded by smoke and your ears and knee are burning due to heavy fire conditions," said Frado, noting that "Beers has done everything I just mentioned throughout his career.""In 2018, Capt. Beers took a personal interest in each occupant (whom) he visited on calls by making sure that they had working smoke detectors."When one resident didn't have a carbon monoxide detector, Beers went to Ace Hardware and bought one with his own money."On every call, big and small, Capt. Beers kept his crew at the forefront of his thoughts and priorities. There was not a single instance where I personally did not feel safe because I knew that one of the baddest and most aggressive firefighters around was right there," Frado said.Firefighter Ben Blodgett said he was thankful "to have such a good mentor" in Beers and knowing he was right beside him at scenes."Brett, you definitely earned it," Blodgett added.Chief John Soisson said he's blessed that there are many firefighters in the department who could be honored each year."Brett is the epitome of an example of what we want," the chief added.Beers attended the Lions Club meeting with his wife Cari and their daughter, Lillie.Ditz, the full-time officer of the year, has been working at the police department since May 1994. He was there with his wife Shannon, their 6-year-old son Bradley and his parents, Jon and Joyce.Conney said when he started receiving nominations, there was a common theme about Ditz with fellow officers saying he is "always willing to help," respectful and "always is in a good mood … no matter what the situation is.""He takes our mission seriously," the chief added.Since Ditz is in his 25th year with the department, Conney said that means Ditz is close to retirement, "which makes me sad, frankly."Years ago, Ditz served as the canine officer and shared the duties of handling Fazo with Dave Pigman, who has retired. In late March 2018, the community welcomed Ditz home after his sixth and final overseas deployment with the U.S. Army.Bickley became a reserve officer in May 2018 and on Dec. 28, was hired on a full-time basis. She was at Tuesday's meeting with her husband Austin and her father and stepmother, Alex and Julie Solis. Conney said he knew Bickley would be a great cop just by looking at how well she completed her reports and she will do well if lives up to the kind of service that Ditz has provided Norwalk."She lives up to that," Conney added.The Norwalk Lions Club has named Capt. Brett Beers (second from right) as the Norwalk firefighter of the year. From left are firefighters Ben Blodgett, Michael Frado, who paid tribute to Beers on Tuesday night, Beers and Chief John Soisson. Capt. Brett Beers (left), of the Norwalk Fire Department, thanks the Norwalk Lions Club for being named the firefighter of the year Tuesday night. On the right is Chief John Soisson. This is the third time that Beers' co-workers have nominated him for the honor.The Norwalk Lions Club has named Norwalk Police Officer Kayla Bickley (left) as the reserve officer of the year while Officer Dave Ditz (right) is the full-time officer of the year. In the middle is Chief Mike Conney. Bickley was a reserve officer starting in May and was hired full time Dec. 28.