The Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States realizes that duties performed in the fields of law enforcement and emergency services, whether carried out in public view with the ensuing public acclaim or performed in ways that gain little public recognition, are both exemplary and of great value to the nation. Each year, the Veterans of Foreign Wars
honors a law enforcement officer, firefighter, and emergency medical technician (EMT) from each Department to receive the VFW National Gold Medal Award. This individual must serve in a municipal, county, state, or federal unit tasked with enforcement of the laws pertaining to their area of responsibility.
The Law Enforcement Committee scheduled a ceremony on February 1, 2023, to present the Post and District Law Enforcement of the Year Award to Safety Education Officer Mary Cipres.
She also was named Officer of the Year for District 4, California Department, which consists of Posts in Apple Valley, Avalon, Carson-Torrance, Compton, Gardena, Hawaiian Gardens, Hawthorne, Inglewood, La Mirada, Lomita, Redondo Beach, and Wilmington Posts.
Her nomination has advanced to the California Department for judging with our State Headquarters.
Post No. 9148 Commander Angelo Gandalf Maldonado, SFC (Ret.) La Mirada Veterans of Foreign Wars added “ I would like to recognize and congratulate Officer Cipres on this award and for her nomination for the competition at the State of California Level.”