The Winters city council had an opportunity last Tuesday night to recognize two city employees for their accomplishments over the past year.

First, Fire Chief Jack Snyder presented the Center for Public Safety and Excellence Fire Officer Designation to Fire Captain Matt Schechla. This was an amazing accomplishment for Schechla, as the designation requires a great deal of outside work and appearing before a review board to test your qualifications and determine if you are eligible for the prestigious designation.

This designation also requires you to recertify every three years to maintain the designation to ensure constant continuing professional development.

In November 2024, Schechla was granted the Managing Officer credential through the National Fire Academy. This program is a 2-year credential that covers topics from leadership, data and analytics, and community risk reduction. Matt is 1 of 633 company officers in the country who completed this program. He is now 1 of 28 in California and the first in Winters Fire history to attain this achievement.

Police Chief John P. Miller also presented the 2024 Police Officer of the Year award to Officer Gordon Brown. Officer Brown not only worked hard to rehabilitate from an injury and return to full active duty in 2024, but once he returned he made a large impact on the department with excellent work in all the areas he was assigned and was a great resource to his team.

This is Officer Brown’s second time winning the award, which is a testament to his hard work and dedication to the city and its residents, according to a release from the city manager.

“The City is so fortunate to have a small but very dedicated City team that works tirelessly around the clock to provide the high quality of life everyone can enjoy,” City Manager Jeremy Craig wrote.

Brown received another accolade earlier this year in March when the American Legion Yolo Post 77 hosted its annual Law Enforcement Appreciation Night, recognizing the officers of the year from each Yolo County law enforcement agency.

Brown was awarded with his 2024 Officer of the Year Certificate for being proactive on patrol, in addition to receiving two commendation certificates from Winters High School for help during events, training with the Yolo County Crisis Negotiation Team, and assisting with public events.