ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — In a Thursday morning ceremony, Mayor Rick Kriseman and the City of St. Petersburg presented three local veterans with the Honored Veteran Award.
The recognition was part of the city's eighth annual Veterans Day ceremony, which Kriseman introduced when he took office.
“I was always kind of amazed when I became mayor that the city didn’t really do anything to recognize the veterans in our community and thank them for their service on Veterans Day," Kriseman said. “I thought it was really important that we started a tradition of doing something formal and recognizing all of our veterans, but in particular, we have some outstanding people that live in this community that are veterans.”
Thursday marked Kriseman's final Veterans Day ceremony as mayor.
During the ceremony, he and the city recognized and awarded three local veterans:
- Ret. U.S. Coast Guard Rear Admiral Sidney "Sid" Boyd Vaughn, Jr., a 92-year-old with a decorated military career and St. Pete roots
- Ret. U.S. Army Captain Antonio “Tony” Sanpere, the recipient of two Bronze Stars and multiple Purple Hearts
- Ret. U.S. Army Master Sergeant Catherine Washington, who will also be honored for making St. Pete history
“Aside from her service in the military, also is the first African American female to serve in the city’s fire department, and her daughter also serves in the fire department," the mayor said of Washington.
It's one of several ceremonies throughout Tampa Bay on Veterans Day. See the full list here.
