PALM BEACH COUNTY, Florida — Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office Communications Officer Cheree Raymond has been selected as the Florida Sheriffs Association’s 2026 Dispatcher of the Year after the association said her calm work on a 9-1-1 call helped save a life during an armed mental-health crisis.

The Florida Sheriffs Association announced the award on Jan. 26, saying Raymond began her Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office career in 2017 and was recognized during the FSA Sheriffs Winter Conference.

More than 40 minutes on the line

According to FSA, Raymond answered a 9-1-1 call on June 6, 2025, from an adult male who said he intended to take his own life with a loaded firearm. The association said Raymond immediately entered a priority call for service while keeping the caller engaged with a calm, empathetic and steady presence.

For more than 40 minutes, FSA said, Raymond gathered officer-safety information, assessed the caller’s mental state and built rapport while deputies responded and coordinated their approach.

The association said Raymond learned the caller was a military veteran facing significant hardship. As the response unfolded, she helped connect him with a responding deputy who was also a veteran, reinforcing that he was not alone.

Peaceful surrender after a close call

FSA said the caller ultimately agreed to put down the firearm, leave the residence and surrender peacefully. Deputies later found the loaded weapon where the caller had described it, along with a case containing his military honors, according to the association.

“Without question, she played a critical role in saving a life,” FSA President and Seminole County Sheriff Dennis Lemma said in the association’s release. “Her calm decision making and steady presence under pressure highlight what it takes to be the best of the best.”

For Support Law Enforcement readers, Raymond’s recognition is a reminder that public-safety heroism is not always a chase, rescue swim or bodycam moment. Sometimes it is a dispatcher staying steady in someone’s worst hour long enough for the person to choose life and for deputies to end the call safely.

Sources and attribution

Editorial note: ThinBlueNews is using only the publicly released FSA account, minimizing private crisis details and omitting the caller’s identity. The featured image is a real FSA award-presentation photo; no AI-generated crisis or rescue scene was used.