Peace Islands Institute Pennsylvania hosted its Annual Public Heroes Appreciation Dinner at 5:30 PM on December 7, 2022, at Philadelphia Ethical Society. The event honors first responders, government employees working in public safety, and other community partners who work ambitiously to help build a peaceful community in the Greater Philadelphia area.

This year the theme of the event was Building a Safe Community. The event opened with the Philadelphia Police Department Police Explorers’ flag ceremony. A welcome speech by Vonya Womack, a Peace Islands Institute Pennsylvania board member, followed it.

After the welcome speech, Peace Islands Institute Pennsylvania Executive Director Muhammed Said Selmanlar presented an award to MC Robert Reed for his service and hard work in enhancing relations between law enforcement and various communities.

Next, FBI Special Agent in Charge (SAC) Jacqueline Maguire gave a keynote speech and touched upon the importance of law enforcement and its community partners working in their own way to make our world a better place in her speech. After her address, she was presented with the first Public Heroes Appreciation Award of 2022. Following her speech, a break was given for dinner. Gabriel Aldort and Fatih Bayram played live music while dinner was provided by the Zaytin Turkish Cuisine.

After the dinner, the award ceremony started. Following the introduction by Captain John Walker, the Philadelphia Police Commissioner Danielle M. Outlaw came to the podium. In her touching award acceptance speech, she said, “We do not do these jobs for pleases and thanks. We work hard, but it is not often that we get honored publicly. Thank you for public acknowledgment and for recognizing us and my colleagues as the heroes they truly are.”

The next awardee was Randy Duque, the Deputy Director of Community Relations for the City of Philadelphia. Kia Ghee, the Executive Director of the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations, came to the stage to introduce Mr. Duque and their significant work at the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations. Following the introduction, PA Superior Court Judge Carolyn Nichols, while presenting the award to Mr. Duque, remarkably noted that there is no winner in the court; judges can understand ‘what’ and ‘how’ but needs the help of faith-based organizations and community groups to understand ‘why.’

During his inspiring award acceptance speech, Mr. Duque said he is trying to be an ‘island of peace’ in the ocean of our community with the work he is doing.

The fourth awardee was Abby Stamelman Hocky, the Executive Director of Interfaith Philadelphia. She was introduced by Chukri Khorsid, a co-founder of Interfaith Philadelphia and a member of Al-Aqsa Masjid. In her acceptance speech, she gave an inspiring example of how different communities partnered together to stand against hate incidents in the past. She concluded her speech by saying, “We will not let the fire stop until the light shines on everyone!”

The last honoree was Robert Warner, the Director of Cure Violence Philadelphia. He talked about his moving life story and how his life has changed from having troubles in his life to dedicating his life to trying to keep others away from trouble. His family was invited to the stage to present the award to him.

Each honoree was awarded with a Public Heroes Appreciation Award from the Peace Islands Institute Pennsylvania and a congratulatory letter from the Pennsylvania Senate by a citation sponsored by PA Senator Christine Tartaglione. The event passed in a warm atmosphere where representatives from various communities and departments got the chance to meet and enhance their relations.

The MC, Robert Reed, highlighted this atmosphere at the event with these words, “If you are not inspired today, then I do not know what else can inspire you. This is all amazing, our attendees and honorees. I wish we could somehow take a transfusion of all this wonderfulness and transmit it all over the world.”

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I was honored to join fellow award recipients at @PeaceIslandsPA's 2022 Public Heroes Appreciation Awards Ceremony. Each of us are fully committed to working as servant leaders in our communities, and are truly thankful for the recognition and partnership from our stakeholders! pic.twitter.com/3scu6G52fT

— Kevin J. Bethel (@PPDCommish) December 9, 2022

Yesterday, as we held our Annual Public Heroes Appreciation Dinner, we had the privilege of recognizing the great work of public servants in our community. Representatives from various institutions joined us to celebrate the impactful achievements of these heroes. pic.twitter.com/4nDWhNfTm7

— Peace Islands PA (@PeaceIslandsPA) December 8, 2022

SAC Maguire was honored to join her public safety and community counterparts this week at @PeaceIslandsPA's dinner recognizing folks in public service. In her keynote, she spoke of public service as a commitment to pursuing justice and the importance of LE/community partnerships. pic.twitter.com/9nfjxCfZlH

— FBI Philadelphia (@FBIPhiladelphia) December 10, 2022