Monroe County sheriff’s office honors employees at quarterly awards ceremony

The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office put two familiar names in the spotlight at its quarterly awards ceremony in Marathon, naming Support Member of the Quarter Kevin Saltarin and Deputy of the Quarter David Parker. Blue Marlin Jewelry owner Armando Gonzalez sponsored the awards as the agency recognized first-quarter 2026 employees for exemplary and outstanding service to the sheriff’s office and to Monroe County residents.

The ceremony reflected a long-running practice inside the agency. Along with the quarterly honors, the sheriff’s office has routinely used its employee ceremonies to recognize years of service, including five, 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30 years, with some years also including 35-year milestones. That pattern has made the awards a regular part of the agency’s calendar rather than a one-time ceremony, and it gives supervisors a public way to acknowledge the work of support staff and deputies whose efforts usually stay out of view.

The office has also used the quarterly awards as a pipeline for its year-end honors. At a separate Officer of the Year Awards Ceremony in Marathon on Feb. 20, the agency selected its annual honorees from among the employees who received quarterly awards during the year, linking day-to-day performance with the department’s highest internal recognition.

That emphasis fits the sheriff’s office’s broader public identity. The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office describes itself as a state and nationally accredited law-enforcement agency, and says its mission is to suppress, prevent and deter crime while providing safe and professional detention and court security services throughout the Keys. In practice, the quarterly ceremony is one of the few public moments when that internal culture of service is made visible.

Sheriff Rick Ramsay’s leadership history also helps explain why the awards remain a recurring feature. His agency biography says he graduated from the Florida Keys Institute of Criminal Justice in 1987. Earlier reporting described him as elected sheriff in 2012 and as the most decorated deputy in MCSO history, with 93 commendations of merit. Against that backdrop, the quarterly ceremony served as a reminder that the agency continues to frame professionalism, retention and steady service as core parts of public safety in Monroe County.