photo by: Bremen Keasey/Journal-World

The Douglas County color guard presenting the colors and national anthem ahead of the Douglas County KS First Responder Valor Awards ceremony Thursday Feb. 26, 2026. The ceremony was the first held since 2019 and honored 21 first responders for acts of extraordinary courage and service.

First responders across Douglas County agencies were honored Thursday night for their heroism and supporting the community during the Douglas County KS First Responder Valor Awards ceremony.

The ceremony, held at Abe and Jake’s Landing, 8 E. Sixth St., was the first time the ceremony was held since 2019, according to Douglas County Commissioner Karen Willey.

Willey provided the welcome address to the event that gave out awards to 21 first responders in the county, including emergency communications officers, members of the KU Police Department and detectives with the Lawrence Police Department. Willey said with her decade and a half serving as a volunteer firefighter, she knows first hand how all the different agencies support one another, and this ceremony was an opportunity to celebrate their work in ensuring the public is safe.

“Even day-to-day work (as a first responder) is hard, stressful, gory and takes a toll,” Willey said. “We hope we’re uplifting all first responders (tonight).”

The night’s keynote speaker was retired Lt. Col. Hugh Mills, a 26-year veteran of the U.S. Army who served in the Vietnam war as an Aero Scout platoon leader and later served in law enforcement aviation in the Kansas City region.

Mills recalled a story from his time in Vietnam where a medic with his unit, Roscoe Morgan, went out into heavy firefighting to help two wounded men while the platoon was surrounded by enemy fighters. Mills said Morgan walked with a purpose and carried out the men one at a time to get them to safety — even as he was being shot at. Mills asked Morgan why he did it, and he said Morgan said “it was my responsibility so I did it.”

Mills said that kind of service reminded him of a passage in the Bible, Isaiah 8:6, which reads “And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?’ Then I said, ‘Here I am! Send me.'” Mills said Morgan’s service — and that of people in law enforcement — is reflected in “hearing that interior call to serve,” and epitomized the spirit of the award winners.

Thursday’s awards were related to acts that took place between Dec. 19, 2024 and Dec. 19, 2025. Three people earned “Grace Under Pressure” awards that recognized a call taker or dispatcher in Douglas County who “performed outstandingly under extreme pressure or extenuating circumstances.”

One winner, Janae Lubega, helped people respond to a call on the KU campus for a potentially suicidal person. When officers couldn’t find them, she used CCTV footage in the surrounding area and eventually found footage that showed he was in a pedestrian tunnel near campus. Her response helped directly contribute to saving his life, according to the letter that nominated her for the award.

Two LPD officers earned a Lifesaving award for responding to an incident on July 17, 2025. Cpl. Kevin Henderson and Officer Robert Hunter responded to the call of a domestic violence incident where there were weapons present at the scene. They found someone chasing people and shooting guns, and one woman was hit in the chest. Henderson and Hunter responded to give the victim chest seals and were holding onto her wounds before the medics took over. Those actions “saved her life,” and earned the two officers the commendations.

Several detectives and crime analysts were also honored for their work in investigating sex crimes. Detectives Mike Verbanic and Joshua Leitner received awards for their work on an investigation of Mike Elder, a violent sex offender from New York state who was charged in Douglas County Circuit Court with with 10 counts of sexual exploitation of a child and one count of electronic solicitation after police found he exchanged thousands of lewd messages and photos with a 14-year old victim. Elder was eventually sentenced to 24 years in prison in January, as the Journal-World reported.

Detective Amy Price, detective Meghan Bardwell, crime analyst Jayme Wehmeyer and crime analyst Andrea Johnston also earned awards for their work in solving an over 20-year-old cold case. With DNA evidence collected after two assaults of young children in a Central Lawrence park in 2000 and 2003, the four LPD members used new technologies including genetic genealogy to try to track down the perpetrator. The Lawrence police announced on Dec. 30, 2025, that work led to a DNA match and arrest of a suspect, David James Zimbrick, 58.

Joe Hardy, chief of the Lawrence-Douglas County Fire Medical department, said the recognition from the event — for the first responders who received awards and the public’s support for the ceremony — “goes a long way” for the morale of those who work in public safety. Hardy said they see a “lot of bad” in this line of work, and the event tonight helped celebrate the good and is a reminder to why they felt called to serve the public.

“This is why we do what we do,” Hardy said.

photo by: Bremen Keasey/Journal-World

Dana Wright, a longtime journalist, helped present awards to four Lawrence police department officers for their work in solving a 25-year old cold case during the Douglas County KS First Responder Valor Awards ceremony. From left to right: Andrea Johnston, Jayme Wehmeyer, Meghan Bardwell, Amy Price received the awards, presented by LPD Chief Rich Lockhart.

photo by: Bremen Keasey/Journal-World

Lawrence Police Department Chief Rich Lockhart (right) hands a Douglas County Valor Award to Officer Robert Hunter on on Feb. 26, 2026. He and Cpl. Kevin Henderson (background) earned the awards for rendering life-saving aid to a woman who was shot in the chest last year.

photo by: Bremen Keasey/Journal-World

Hundreds attended the Douglas County KS First Responder Valor Awards ceremony Thursday Feb. 26, 2026.

photo by: Bremen Keasey/Journal-World

Lawrence Police Department Chief Rich Lockhart speaking during the Douglas County KS First Responder Valor Awards ceremony on Thursday Feb. 26, 2026.