Maitland City Talk

Lions Club awards police and firefighter of the year

On Wednesday, June 9, the Maitland Lions Club gave a heartfelt thank you to two outstanding men from our police and firefighter teams. President Jack Elliot presided over a wonderful dinner and awards ceremony. Councilwoman Linda Frosch attended the fine evening.

The Lions recognized Lt. Martin Wohltmann and Lt. Ralph Palmer for their exemplary efforts in the line of duty.

Lt. Martin Wohltmann

Wohltmann was promoted in 2007 to the rank of paramedic lieutenant, where now, in addition to his many roles and responsibilities as a company officer, Wohltmann gives intense attention to the Fire Department's technological needs as he oversees its fire and medical reporting systems, and monthly and quarterly activity statistics, making the Fire Department virtually a paperless organization.

His most recent accomplishments are the design, creation and installation oversight of a new dry fire hydrant and pump manifold for Fire Department training, thus allowing our members to train right in our city without the need to travel the 15 miles to our fire academy.

My sincere congratulations go out to Wohltmann for this prestigious honor.

Lt. Ralph Palmer

Palmer received this award for his dedication to duty and excellence in management. As the commander of the Criminal Investigation Division, he oversees all criminal investigations coordinating with other law enforcement agencies, Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the State Attorney's Office.

Palmer has been a member of the Maitland Police Department for 16 years, starting his career in 1994. He has been Criminal Investigations Division commander for 2 years.

Palmer's career started in the Road Patrol Division where he worked for several years before being transferred to Community Policing where he was subsequently assigned for two years.

In 1998, Palmer was promoted to the rank of sergeant and transferred back to road patrol as an assistant squad leader. In 2006, he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant and assumed the role of a road patrol watch commander. Throughout his career with the Maitland Police Department, Palmer has been involved with nearly every aspect of operations including, SWAT team, marine patrol and bike patrol. He also holds numerous certifications in law enforcement related fields.

He also led the search and rescue team that Maitland provided during the search for little Nadia Bloom. Palmer made worldwide news when his photo carrying Nadia was broadcast by the Associated Press.

Congratulations go out to Palmer for his dedication to our city!

Maitland Lions Club

Many thanks to the Maitland Lions Club for presenting these awards to Maitland's dedicated public safety professionals since 1999. The Lions Club is an international service organization of nearly 1.3 million volunteers in more than 205 countries and geographies.

The Maitland Lions Club meets twice a month. For further information, contact Jack Elliot at [email protected].