An East Penn firefighter and Lehighton police officer were recognized by the Lehighton located Shoemaker-Haydt American Legion Post 314 during its Monday night 97th birthday celebration.

Robert M. Kleintop Jr., of the East Penn Township Volunteer Fire Company was named as the Firefighter of the Year during the presentation while Lehighton officer Gabriel S. Szozda was honored as Police Officer of the Year.Szozda has been on the borough's force since 2011."It's very humbling," he said. "Every police officer deserves to be honored in the community."According to Szozda, the biggest challenge currently facing the borough is drug trafficking."We have to make sure the kids and teenagers are safe and don't get caught up in this stuff," he said. "We go to work and try to make sure our kids are protected. We work hard to make sure they know we're out there to protect them."Both men recognized during the program were hand-picked by their municipality peers."We want to commend them for their service and dedication by thanking them for everything they do in the community," said Harry Wynn III, 30th District senior vice commander and emcee for the evening.The legion incorporated the officer recognition into the celebration 15 years ago, first by honoring an police officer then adding a fire police officer recognition for the annual event 10 years later.The audience was treated to three elementary student written essays, Jordan Caprio of Shull-David, Michael Yeakel of Mahoning and Madyson Moser Bergdahl of East Penn. The fourth-graders' written theme was "Our Heritage." Each student highlighted a story from the early days of America in their paper. The winning writers recited their essays for the audience after dinner."I was nervous to read it in front of everyone," said Bergdahl, 9."We hope when they look back on this experience they can see how it catapulted them into their futures," said Commander Larry Heffley. The officers were handed an engraved plaque to commemorate the honor. The students receiving certificates of recognition for their written works.