OKALOOSA COUNTY, Fla. — Deputy Heather Rominger is the Administration Bureau Sworn Outstanding Performer of the Year for the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office (OCSO).
Described by the OCSO as efficient, productive, and compassionate, Rominger has been with the OCSO as a Court Transport Deputy since 2014.
“She is an essential component of Court Transport, an irreplaceable member of the Detention Section, and a benevolent humanitarian,” the OCSO said in a statement.
“Deputy Sheriff Heather Rominger exhibits professionalism, reliability, loyalty, and concern for others. She exceeds the standard in every way and is our 2021 Administration Bureau Sworn Outstanding Performer of the Year.”
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In 2021, the Detention Section experienced several leadership changes. With those changes, Rominger looked for ways to increase efficiency. She volunteered to assume numerous additional responsibilities:
- Preparing court dockets and transport lists
- Accounting for all arrest reports being scanned to the Clerk’s Office Case Initiation
- Ensuring Accurate accountability of retention files
- Completing daily checks of the facility to ensure maintenance is up-to-date, including court feeds on all three levels of the courthouse annex
Rominger also is an active member of the OCSO Deputy Counsel, serving as the sole liaison between Judicial Services and Sheriff Aden.
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Deputy Rominger cares deeply for her peers and their families.
She made sure Deputy Michael Neau’s family was supported after he became ill, creating a “meal train” through a website to organize meals for the family, and raising over $3,000 for the Neau family.
After Michael’s passing, Rominger volunteered to help in the collection and analysis of data needed to show that Neau contracted his illness while serving in his official capacity and was an official “In the Line of Duty Death,” making his family eligible for proper entitlements.
To this day Rominger stays in constant communication with the Neau family.
Deputy Neau’s wife, Mechelle, asked to add a few words about the impact Rominger has had on her family. Here is her statement:
“Heather has been a Godsend to us. She worked with Michael in booking, and he would always have stories about how she kept them all straight at work.
“I had never met her, though.
“When Michael was admitted to the hospital, she came to see him and immediately became a part of my family. She checked on me and the girls, organized a meal train on our behalf, and helped with everything we needed.
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“She became the liaison for me when it came to working with the agency. I couldn’t have gotten through, especially the first month, without her by our side. Heather is family now. The girls love her, I love her, and she has been the best thing for us.”
