Vicksburg Benevolent Homecoming Club honored two veteran law enforcement officers and a paramedic Wednesday during its 31st annual Officer/Fireperson of the Year banquet.

Warren County deputy Rick Jordan, a 30-year law enforcement veteran, received deputy of the year, and investigator Curtis Judge received the Artel Moore award for officer of the year. Firefighter paramedic Jeremy Chavez received top honors for Vicksburg Fire Department.

Jordan began his law enforcement career in 1985 as a member of the Federal Protection Service, and after years of federal service with a number of agencies, joined the sheriff’s department in 2002.

“It was an honor to be nominated and a great pleasure to receive the award,” Jordan said.

Jordan works as a transport deputy, often serving arrest warrants and pick-up orders.

“It’s well deserved. He is a very dedicated professional officer who has served this community for many years,” Sheriff Martin Pace said.

Judge, who has been with VPD since 2003, is the department’s crime scene investigator and is responsible for scouring crime scenes for evidence. Essentially his job is the real world version of the hit TV series “CSI.” Things are more complicated than they look on television, and the process is much slower and more painstaking.

“It’s a great honor. In law enforcement it’s not about the pay, it’s about the dedication,” Judge said.

VPD Chief Walter Armstrong agreed, and he and other officials thanked the homecoming club for its dedication to thanking police and firefighters.

“In this job you’re not going to get a lot of thanks. Your appreciation comes from within,” he said. “I know of no other organization that continuously thanks us for the job we are doing.”

Chavez was unable to attend the banquet due to illness, Fire Chief Charles Atkins said. He is a member of an ambulance crew and was on board one of the city ambulances when it crashed and overturned. Thanks to his training and the training of the driver — firefighter Curtis Lloyd Jr. — everyone survived the wreck, Atkins said.

“Usually we are there on the worst day of a person’s life to help them through it,” Atkins said. “When we’ve done our jobs, a lot of times, there is no one to give us a pat on the back.”

The Homecoming Benevolent Club began honoring law enforcement agents in 1984, club president Willie Glasper Sr. said. The first award recipient was Sgt. Charles Chisley. In 1985, the club began honoring sheriff’s deputies, and Vicksburg Fire Department was added to the list of honorees in 1996.