Coconut Creek First Responders Honored at Chamber Breakfast

by David Volz February 11, 2026

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Coconut Creek First Responders {David Volz}

Coconut Creek Detective Cheri Stabile is committed to protecting the most vulnerable in the community.

She received the First Responder Excellence Award for Coconut Creek and was honored at the Heroes Among Us! ceremony hosted by the Coral Springs Coconut Creek Regional Chamber of Commerce Wake-Up Breakfast on February 10.

Stabile said she was proud to be the city’s first full-time internet crimes against children investigator and has played a critical role in holding offenders accountable. She also focuses on preventing online crime and educating parents and students about online threats.

Officer Ethan Rodriguez was honored with the Life Saving Award for Coconut Creek. He was credited with preventing a woman in emotional distress from jumping from a ledge of a parking structure.

Brandon Pinkney and Ernest Edmond were honored with the Public Works/Utilities Hero Award for Coconut Creek. While traveling in a city vehicle, they noticed flames coming from beneath another car. They followed the car and directed the driver to pull over along Winston Park Boulevard. They both worked to block traffic and helped the woman out of the car as flames engulfed it. Pickney and Edmond positioned the truck to protect the scene and directed traffic until police arrived.

Frank Babinec, a former Coral Springs city manager and fire chief, also received the Hero Among Us Award and served as the keynote speaker. He praised the first responders and described heroes as people who see what needs to be done and then go and do it. “Serving others is part of who they are,” he said.

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Author Profile

David Volz

David Volz has worked as a writer in South Florida for 35 years. He has written for the Sun-Sentinel, Hollywood Gazette, School Transportation News, South Dade News Leaders, Observer among others. He has an MA in Communications from Florida Atlantic University and a BA in Communications from Valparaiso University. Volz teaches Communications at Miami Dade College and Palm Beach State College. He lives in Coral Springs and enjoys running and participating in 5Ks and half-marathons.