submitted by Clermont Battalion
The Clermont Battalion Awards and Graduation Ceremony was recently held in the Black Box at the Clermont Performing Arts Center. Attending were representatives from the Sea Cadet National Headquarters, the local Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) post, the Daughters of the American Revolution, the local Submarine Veterans South Lake Base and the Central Florida Navy League. Representing the City of Clermont were Police Chief Charles Broadway and City Manager Brian Bulthuis. The guest speaker was Navy Captain (ret) Rock Daze, a former F-14 Top Gun pilot.
Three Chief Petty Officers graduated this year: Command CPO Kurt Schindele, CPO Jason Garcia and CPO Hansel Lugo-Ramos.
The Change of Command ceremony officially turned the reigns of the Battalion from outgoing Command Chief Kurt Schindele, to the incoming Command Chief Joseph “Joey” Walter.
Several years ago, an award was created in honor of Clermont Police Chief Charles Broadway. Each year this award is presented to the cadet who exemplifies the Chief’s commitment to leadership and excellence in service to their team. This year, that award was presented to Petty Officer First Class Rahel Van Der Riet.
Clermont Police Officer LeSean Biggs was selected by the cadet leadership as the Instructor of the Year. He volunteers with the Battalion as Color Guard officer and is himself a retired Navy Chief Petty Officer.
For more information, visit: www.ClermontBattalion.com.
(Information provided by Dave Peck)
