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The Oro Valley Police Department held its first formal awards ceremony Saturday night at the Hilton Tucson El Conquistador Golf & Tennis Resort, 10000 N. Oracle Road.

Though conversation among people who attended was light and jovial, the importance of what they were gathered to acknowledge — integrity and honor — was apparent throughout the 3 1/2-hour event.

It was a time to honor old traditions, such as the posting of the colors by Matthew Horetski and Greg Burgess, as performed to Elijah Woodward's bagpipe music.

It also was a time to establish new traditions within the Oro Valley Police Department.

Police Chief Danny Sharp presented all the officers, except new officers still under probation, with a "challenge coin" as a symbol of the trust the Oro Valley community has in them and they have in each other.

The symbolic coin dates to World War I, when it saved the life of an American lieutenant who was stripped of all other personal identification when he was captured by German forces.

After the officers received their challenge coins, Dr. Richard Carmona, until recently the U.S. surgeon general, showed his own challenge coin to Sgt. Steve Sickelbower.

Carmona, who was one of the guest speakers, received the coin when he was in the Army.

"The Army taught me about duty, honor and sacrifice," he said of his time in the Special Forces.

After his four-year term as the nation's 17th surgeon general ended on July 29, Carmona returned to Tucson, where he again makes his home.

Carmona, who was once the Pima County Sheriff's Department surgeon and a deputy sheriff, said it was a privilege to speak at the awards ceremony.

"I've been a police officer, and I'm very proud of that. Really, that's where my heart was, so for Danny to call me to come back today is a privilege," he said.

The feeling was mutual. Many officers and their families lined up to shake Carmona's hand during one of the intermissions.

Carmona seemed at home among his peers, helping the department honor officers who went beyond the call of duty during the past year and throughout their careers.

Officer Herb Williams received the Chief of Police Medal of Merit for the off-duty heroics he performed on June 17 when he was traveling through Salt River Canyon, in Central Arizona between Globe and Show Low.

Putting his own safety aside, Williams climbed down the side of the canyon to save two men trapped in an overturned Gatorade truck. The driver was pinned inside by electrical wires.

Williams sat with the two men for more than three hours, directing civilians who had come to help the men as they waited for a helicopter to arrive.

Meanwhile, Williams' wife of two weeks, Amanda Williams, watched from the top of the canyon, not knowing if her new husband would make it out alive. The couple had recently found out that she was pregnant.

Williams, who has been on the force for 20 years, said seeing his wife's distraught face when he was finally rescued taught him a lesson about what the families of police officers go through.

"I think the one thing I took for granted the worst was family," he said.

"I think young officers especially really need to take a long, hard look at their families and realize what they're going through every day."