The Eagles Lodge handed out its awards for Firefighter and Police Officer of the year Sunday, celebrating two longtime Lawrence public servants.

For 18 years, Joe Mehl has worked for the Lawrence-Douglas County Fire & Medical service, but he said he still wasn’t sure why he was singled out for the Excellence in Fire Prevention and Medical Service award.

“There are lots of deserving firefighters out there,” Mehl said.

Serving out of Fire Station No. 2, Mehl said that the decision was made inside the department. His captain, he said, nominated him.

For the Reverence For Law award, the Eagles selected Chuck Cottengim, a patrol officer for the Lawrence Police Department.

Cottengim has worked the midnight patrol shift for years and has a long record of service in the U.S. military, serving in the Persian Gulf and elsewhere.

He is a flight engineer in the U.S. Army Reserve and also has served in the Marine Corps. He has served in Iraq and Saudi Arabia, among other places.

For the Eagles, the award ceremony itself has gone through some changes.

Dean Brown coordinated the event, his second year presenting the awards. For a quarter of a century, Claud Aubry coordinated the event and presented the annual awards. Aubry died last year.

Brown said that he was nervous but that this year’s ceremony went better than his first presentation last year.

“It’s the least I can do,” Brown said, “for the people that protect our community.”

He said that the award recipients appreciated the event, adding that he was looking forward to keeping the celebrations a staple of the Eagles.

With plaque in hand, firefighter Mehl showed his appreciation Sunday night.

“I think it’s great,” Mehl said. “I appreciate everything the Eagles have done.”