Texas Division of Emergency Mamagement honors recipients of 2nd annual Distinguished Staff Awards

THE WOODLANDS, TX -- The Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM) celebrated the dedication and hard work of the agency's staff members at the second annual Distinguished Staff Awards, recognizing exceptional achievements and contributions that have significantly enhanced emergency preparedness and response across Texas.

“Our best asset as an agency is our phenomenal team," said Texas Emergency Management Chief Nim Kidd. "We're proud to celebrate our employees' tireless commitment to caring for communities in Texas and across our nation. Their work embodies the spirit of service that defines our mission.”

The honorees were recognized at the agency's holiday party on December 6, which included the presentation of awards to several outstanding team members who have gone above and beyond in their roles, demonstrating leadership, innovation, and an unwavering commitment to the safety and well-being of Texans. The celebration highlighted the importance of teamwork, collaboration, and a shared pledge to serving Texas.

This year’s honorees include:

Newcomer Award – Cody Hancock and Cheyenne Chester: Audio/Visual Systems Administrators
Recognizes a new employee (between 1 and 3 years at TDEM) who has made individual significant contributions and showcases creative ideas.

Innovator Award – Katelynn Amaya: Senior Information Technology Applications Developer
Recognizes an individual who exceeds their daily job duties, leads by example, and provides innovative ideas.

Role Model of the Year Award – Joshua Hollingsworth: Unit Chief, Recovery Grants
Recognizes an individual’s accomplishments as someone who exemplifies leadership, contributing to the success of their division or region.

Spotlight Award – Jon Reese: Region 2 (North Texas) Section Chief, Preparedness & Response
Recognizes an individual’s commitment to TDEM as someone who has significantly increased productivity & efficiency.

Life Saving Award – Jarod Cook: Young County Liaison Officer
Recognizes exemplary emergency response efforts.

Heart of TDEM Award – Elisa DeLeon: External Affairs Project Manager
Recognizes an individual’s donation of time as someone who advocates in their community in support of TDEM's mission.

Chief Award – Jaime Martinez: Special Events Manager
Recognizes service to the agency and to the State of Texas that goes above and beyond required duties.

Chief Kidd also bestowed the Chief Award to approximately 70 TDEM responders who deployed to support other states in their times of need over the past year, providing disaster response and recovery support in a variety of capacities including disaster finance and accounting, emergency operations center support, volunteer and donations management, public information, community disaster recovery, logistics support, and other areas of expertise. These dozens of personnel deployed for weeks to multiple states including Hawaii for wildfires, New Mexico for wildfires and flooding, California for wildfires, Florida for Hurricane Milton, and North Carolina and Tennessee for Hurricane Helene.

Individuals interested in joining TDEM are encouraged to visit the agency’s careers portal at tdem.texas.gov/careers.