The Montezuma County Sheriff’s Office will host its annual awards ceremony at the Montezuma-Cortez High School auditorium on Feb. 23, and for the first time, the public is invited.

The ceremony is from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at M-CHS, 418 Sligo St.

Sheriff Steve Nowlin said the ceremony will remain open to the public to demonstrate what the Sheriff’s Office does in the community.

“I’m hoping we get a lot of people to come and spread the word,” Nowlin said. “I hope they get to hear the good things our deputies have done, their sacrifices and the excellent work, and it’s a real honor to be able to do that.”

At the ceremony, five awards for lifesaving acts and one for valor will be presented. The awards are being presented for events that happened in 2023.

“I’m so appreciative that the Cortez school district has allowed us to have this in the auditorium,” Nowlin said.