Latest news, weather and high school sports for Albany and Southwest Georgia

Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner Ralph Hudgens presented awards Thursday recognizing winners of the annual “Excellence in Fire Safety” awards, and the winning students of the statewide Fire Safety Poster and Essay contests.

Commissioner Hudgens presented the awards at the 2012 “Life, Fire, and Safety” Awards Banquet in Forsyth, Georgia. The annual banquet was held in conjunction with the observance of National Fire Prevention Month.

 “The individuals we honored today have made a personal effort to improve fire safety for all Georgians,” Commissioner Hudgens said.

Winners of the “Excellence in Fire Safety” Awards were:
Firefighert of the year - Royce Bottoms - Barrow County Department
Fire Official of the Year - Lt. Aaron Fuller - Barrow County Department
Fire Safety Educator of the Year - City of Monroe Fire Department
Citizens Award of Courage (17 and under) - Cooper Davis - Johns Creek, Georgia
Citizens Award of Courage (18 and older) - Miller Jenkins - Augusta, Georgia
Citizens Award of Courage (18 and older) - Felande D. Ross, II - Augusta, Georgia

Contestants in the poster and essay contests were required to reflect this year's theme, Fire Drills: "Have Two Ways Out," in the entries they submitted.

First-Place winners of the Fire Safety Poster Contest were:
Jeremiah Lawrence - Kindergarten - Pike County Elementary School - Zebulon
Joy Dikko - 1st Grade - Russell Elementary School - Smyrna
Ty Griffin - 2nd Grade - Pike County Elementary School - Johns Creek
McKenzie Simpson - 3rd Grade - Dames Ferry Elementary School - Gray
Olivia Yang - 4th Grade - Wilson Elementary School - Johns Creek
Alexander Hunter - 5th Grade - Austin Road Elementary School - Stockbridge

Fire Safety Award Winners

First-Place winner of the Fire Safety House Essay Contest were:
Zamir Anderson - 2nd Grade - C.L. Gideon Elementary School - Atlanta

First-Place winners of the Fire Safety Essay, open to all students from grades six through 12, were:
Colt Sullivan - 6th Grade - Faith Christian Academy - Griffin
Malik J. Lewis - 7th Grade - Georgia Cyber Academy - Atlanta
Heidi Collett - 8th Grade - Dawson County Middle School - Dawsonville
Kelsey Meaney - 9th Grade - Georgia Cyber Academy - Atlanta
Kameron Watson -10th Grade - Valdosta High School - Valdosta
Rebecca Campbell - 11th Grade - Valdosta High School - Valdosta
Larry Florentine - 12th Grade - Dawson County High School - Dawsonville