The Missouri Department of Public Safety is accepting nominations for the state’s highest awards honoring first responders who took heroic actions beyond the call of duty in 2024.

The awards are the Red, White and Blue Heart Award; Missouri Medal of Valor; and Governor’s Medal. DPS is also accepting nominations from Missouri public safety agencies for the Public Safety Civilian Partnership Award. The awards will be presented during a ceremony in Jefferson City in late 2025.

The deadline to nominate members of their organizations for any of the medals is Feb. 28, 2025. Nominations must come from the leader of the public safety agency. Nomination forms and additional information about the awards, including who is eligible to make a nomination, is available at dps.mo.gov/medal.

“For the purposes of these awards, a public safety officer is defined as a person serving a public agency, with or without compensation, as a firefighter, law enforcement officer, or emergency personnel or emergency management personnel. The term ‘law enforcement officer’ includes a person who is a state or local corrections or court officer. EMS personnel are eligible,” reads a release about the awards.